Midoriya the Ronin
by bigdogneversleeps
Summary: Slight AU- Izuku Midoriya is many things. He is a creator. He is a ronin. He is an idol manager. He is a vigilante. He is still kinda awkward. And he is willing to leave that in the past to become the one thing most important to as Izuku Midoriya is a hero! (Where Izuku is born a year early)(Contains heavy usage of characters from the Vigilante Series)
1. Test Part Deux

Izuku Midoriya groaned as he saw his clock said 1:48AM.

Why was someone texting him, tonight of all nights, this late? Honestly, it was his fault. He put his cell on vibrate and not silent.

Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he checked the screen of his phone (grimacing at the light attacking his eyes) and saw it was from Kazuho, 2 messages.

Immediately worried for her, he entered in his passcode and checked the text she had sent him.

 _Hey greenhorn, I'll drive u to UA tomorrow. The exam is at 9? I'll pick you up at 8_

 _Make it a quarter before, probably will be traffic_

Smiling at the text, he quickly replied with an 'ok' before fiddling with his alarm clock. He had set it for 6:30, but with the news of a ride meant he could sneak another half hour of sleep. As he began to change the time, however, he thought again. He didn't want to walk into the exam still trying to wake up, that could be bad for him. Plus, the time could be spent making sure everything was in proper order before going into practicals. With a sigh, Izuku changed his alarm back to its previous time. He shouldn't be complaining, however. This was still the most sleep he had gotten in months.

…

Izuku let the cold water run over his skin, trying to shock his body awake. It had yearned for him to take the extra thirty he knew he had to give, but he had decided against it already. He was wasting time at this point, he had finished what he needed to do in the shower a few minutes ago. He couldn't afford to give into the doldrums, so he finally turned off the water and began to shake off the wet droplets from his hair body before grabbing his towel. Drying off and finishing off the rest of the morning routine, he went back to his room to get everything he needed.

He didn't need a jacket since it was going to be warm (despite it being the end of Feburary) so he went with the most 'think-at-a-glance-he-was-wearing-a-middle-school-outfit piece' he had and grabbed his already made gear bag from his closet. Wandering into the dining room, he set the bag on the table and began preparing himself a quick breakfast. Wash a little rice, start a kettle of water, find a clean frying pan, put the rice in the cooker, and wait. He took this time to pull out the sneakers from the gear bag and remove the sole with a handy screwdriver. Double checking the pressure plates and springs were working on both, he strolled over to the cabinet to get the ingredient to make a quick miso soup. After screwing the soles back onto the shoes, he double checked the studs on his gloves to make sure the wires were properly connected to them and they were firmly attached to the knuckles. Grabbing a few eggs from the fridge, Midoriya quickly got into cooking the rest of his breakfast.

Sitting down to his meal of eggs with rice and miso soup, he slowly began to fidget with his final piece of support gear. Getting up to restock the medicine pouch with gauze (Koichi was a freakin' pick pocket for the stuff with all the scraps he got), he returned to see his mother looking at his food and gear strewn about on the table.

Embarrassed, Izuku ran over and began to apologize. "Oh, I'll put that away now… and I'm sorry mom. I didn't think you'd be up so I didn't make you anything." He put the shoes and gloves away before looking towards the kitchen, wondering how quickly he could make her things.

His mom shook her head. "You don't have to dear, I'm getting ready to head back to bed. I just wanted to make sure you got on time. I don't want you to miss the big exam!" She told him with tired enthusiasm.

He smiled at her earnestness. Izuku knew his mom had to be tired, her job acting as the night manager at the local karaoke spot keeping her up until 4 o'clock in the morning. She should be getting some sleep. In fact, he had told her not to worry about him and get her sleep. But instead she was here. Slowly he began to walk over to his mom with his arms outstretched. She leaned into him, wrapping into him for a hug. He hugged her back, telling her in her ear "Don't worry, I'll do just fine."

Still in the hug, he froze as she told him back. "Is fine good enough?" She released the hug first, getting him to slowly release his as she stepped back to look him in the eye. "I know you have all your gadgets, and all the time you spent with your friends at night but… I know the entry rate is only 2%. And you told me that they are going to grade you harder because this isn't your first time taking it. So...I'm worried you could do your best and still not get in."

He interrupted her concern. "Mom, I know what you are saying but… I have to try. This has always been my dream, going to U.A. and becoming a hero. I can't worry about failing if I want to get to my dream."

"But I can, honey, that's my job as your mother. And I saw how you took it last time, when they told you no. You were devastated and couldn't eat for a week." Tears began to well in her eyes as she remembered. A hitch was beginning to form in her voice. "And you just spent the last year trying to get stronger. So if you put in all that effort just to miss...honey I can't lose you to your dreams. Can't...you are a great inventor and so smart. I know Musu Tech invited you in with a recommendation."

"And if I fail, I promise I'll take it mom. This isn't baseball, I know I won't get a third swing at it. But if I don't try, I know it is gonna eat me for the rest of my life. You know, Koichi sometimes tells me he is envious? That he loves his life, but sometimes he wishes he had taken a chance and gone for a hero entrance exam a second time. Helping people isn't enough. I want to save them. And heroes save people." Izuku couldn't help but leak tears as he put it out all on the table for his mom. He knew, he had always known that she doubted him. He didn't blame her for it, she was doing what she thought was best for him. His dreams always seemed a bit ridiculous to anyone who heard it. But he wasn't going to let that get to him.

His mom looked deep into his eyes before dropping them. "Dang it, you're just like your father. You always know how to convince me you're right." She let out a soft chuckle along with the tears.

"Come on mom, don't be mean. At least I'm actually right." He joked about his father's nature to both their amusement.

A few more words and well wishes were exchanged before Inko Midoriya left to get more sleep. He knew he would have to tell her everything, good or bad, about the exam once he got back. Izuku was really hoping it was good. He finished up his breakfast and put away the dirty dishes before finally finishing his tool tinkering. All the pouches were filled and buckles were secure, meaning he was ready. He wasted time looking online about the previous day's news events, taking amusement in how Mt. Lady was getting flack for using the assistance of local vigilantes to draw her opponents into more convenient locations. Apparently, 'The Hauler' (which always brightened his day) had been seen luring some odd villain that could shoot chunks of ice into a park where Mt. Lady stomped him into the ground while she was also seen mocking his partner in crime, Pop Step. He debated asking Kazuho about it, but decided against it. She was moody enough as it was. The text telling of her arrival was welcomed shortly after. He rushed down to see her van sitting idle in the parking lot.

"Thanks a lot for this. I know you were up late, you didn't have to do this." He told her as he opened the door to her van.

She rolled her eyes behind her glasses. "Yeah, but I wanted to. Now get in the car, it's getting cold in here greenhorn." She gestured him in while he quickly complied with. Putting his gear behind him, he buckled up and the duo made their way to the UA campus.

Looking at his senpai, he quickly noticed something she was wearing something familiar. But not familiar on her, but rather with his other senpai, Koichi.

"So, when's the wedding?" He let out a joke as they continued the silent entry into traffic.

Kazuho looked confused, looking around the car. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He gestured towards her hoodie while smiling. "That isn't your old All Might hoodie. That is Koichi's special one he wears out. It is obvious with all the repairs he has put into it."

Blushing, trying to hide it behind the sleeves of said hoodie, Kazuho stuttered out, "S-s-so? What does it have to do with a w-wedding?"

"You definitely stayed the night, didn't you?" Izuku teased his senpai. She was usually the one teasing him, so this was some nice payback.

"S-so what, greenhorn!" She screeched, adding on his nickname as she tried to focus on the road.

He sat back into the van's seat. "Finally. You guys have been dancing around each other since before you brought me into the gang." His smile softened. "I know you two will be happy together."

Kazuho's face turned red as she did her best to keep her eyes on the road and not bury her head into her chest. "Th-thank you." She finally stuttered out.

"No problem, senpai. Just ask Koichi if I will be one of his groomsmen or not."

She glared at him for as long as she risked it. "Shut your mouth greenhorn, or else I'll make you a bridesmaid! You'll even have to wear a dress!" She threatened him.

While it did unnerve him for a second, months and months of handling her and Koichi had left him sharp to easy comebacks. "As long as I'm at the wedding, I'll be the flower girl if you ask me."

"I should make you walk the rest of the way." She was obviously beyond done with him.

"I'm sorry, I'll be good." It was too cold to risk it, especially carrying his things. And he knew she would do it too.

Things were quiet for a few minutes as she drove through the city, but the morning traffic she had predicted the night before led to boredom and got one of them talking again.

"So, how ya feeling? Nervous or what?" Kazuho asked, looking at him through the sides of her glasses.

Izuku felt himself sink into the seat as he let out a sigh. "I keep telling myself that I'm not. That this is going to be easy." He explains.

"Which it will be. You have to consider yourself lucky, greenhorn. Unlike the rest of the brats in there, you have legit combat experience. You have actually fought people and won. Robots are no big deal, right?" Kazuho tried to encourage him.

"People are easy. They can make mistakes, you can talk to them...and most of them aren't made of metal." He pointed out the biggest concern on his regarding the test.

"Yeah, but isn't your goal just to fry most of them? You don't have to punch that hard to do it." She pointed out right back.

"I know, it's just… this is my last shot. I don't get to try again with U.A. If I don't get in, I'm stuck working with both of you if I wanna help people." He hadn't meant that as an insult, but she took it as one.

"Hey, don't get snippy with me. Pop Step and Crawler have been assets to this city for years, what's so bad about being like us?" She asked, refocusing on the road as the flow of traffic started to pick up. Izuku was quick to respond.

"I don't mean it like that! You guys are awesome, and the fact you are letting me tagalong with you to help people has been great. I learnt a lot and am super thankful. But, I mean, the law still treats us like criminals. I mean, we have been pretty lucky, you know? You guys have connections and stuff that means we can get away with this for the most part. That could end any minute. We try to save someone, and we end up in jail. And I don't want it to be like that for me. When I save people, I want to be able to do it knowing I can save someone else the next day!"

This was the crux of why Izuku couldn't settle for being a vigilante. He knew his mom and his friends wouldn't mind if he did, but he wouldn't. He knew he could do a lot more for the world then helping in the shadows. He wanted to be a pillar, a symbol of peace for all those who cannot be heroes themselves. He needed to be able to go anywhere from Hokkaido to Nagisaki and be just like his hero, and tell them not to worry because 'I am here'.

Thankfully, Kazuho already knew about this side of him. "I know kid, I know." She said in a soft voice that she wasn't sure he heard. They were close to U.A., obvious by the gaggle of middle schoolers in different uniforms walking the sidewalk. Finding a nearby parking space, she began to park as she spoke to him again.

"You know green- you know Izuku," she caught his attention by using his name, "me and Koichi are rooting for you. We could never get to be pro heroes, but that doesn't mean you can't. We know you will. You have been through too much with us to make us think otherwise. So I don't care what those kids do. I don't care what this school will do. I care about what you will do. And I know you will knock it out of the park."

Izuku was gleaming at the kind words by his friend. He knew she cared, but not like this. "Wow Kazuho, thanks for that. You really are-" His words were stopped by her continuing her statement.

"If you do fail, just know I'm making you stick to your promise of being my flower girl. Hear me, greenhorn?" She gave him a smug smirk, throwing in a little fuel to his fire that he didn't need.

Izuku left the car and slammed the door shut behind him. He seemed like he was going to storm off before turning to the car window with a smirk. "Okay then, Mrs. Hauler!" He was grinning at that one as he left to go to the exam room.

"His name is Crawler!" He heard her yell, obviously having rolled down the car window. He kept grinning.

"What did she get all mad about?" His attention was interrupted by a boy who had been walking on the sidewalk as he left the car. The three things he noticed about him was how he was fairly tall, had large teeth, and was wearing a coat that sleeves seemed way too big on him (but somehow fit perfectly.

Izuku let out a chuckle. "I was just teasing her about her boyfriend." He told him honestly.

"So is she like your sister or cousin or…" The guy asked, still looking at her in the van. The pink hair was probably confusing him, as to why she was driving him this early in the morning.

"She's my friend. And I guess technically my boss?" Izuku added, figuring since his cover story did have him manage Pop Step.

The tall boy shrugged it off and looked at Izuku for the first time in earnestness. "Wow, you have a big bag. What are you hiding in there?"

"Success." Izuku tried to sound cool, and hoped it worked. "Anyway, I'm Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand.

The boy took it. "Hanta Sero. But seriously, your bag is ridiculous. Why do you need so much stuff?" Sero asked him.

Izuku just shrugged it off. "Support gear." He was just a little more specific.

Sero cocked an eyebrow, but seemed to realize that he wasn't going to be super specific. "Well, I hope that means you're prepared. I think I am, but I have no idea." He honestly told him.

" I don't think anyone is really prepared for this. This is the top hero school in the country for a reason." Izuku pointed out. Kazuho's words could only encourage him so much when he was staring down reality.

Sero could only nod in agreement. The two boys kept walking towards the entrance, but not before Sero asked a question Izuku wasn't too surprised came up. "So what school do you go to? Cause that seems super casual."

He was alluding to the fact that Izuku was wearing a plain black T under a dark green sports coat with a pair of black pants that looked like they had more give than the standard uniform wear. It looked nice, but it was clearly not a uniform,

Deciding it really didn't matter, Izuku told the truth. "Ah, well, this is kinda embarrassing. I actually graduated locally from Aldera Junior High last year. To tell you the truth, this is my second time trying to take the UA entrance exam." If Sero was going to start something over it, he could handle it.

"You went full-on ronin?" Sero asked, looking more surprised than mocking. He looked at the school and back to him. "Crap, the exam must be super hard. You look smart and stuff." He had become nervous with this information.

Not wanting to discourage him, Izuku patted him on the back. "Hey man, you don't need to freak out. The written isn't that bad. It's just...I wasn't ready for the practical. It was my fault really." He admitted to his own mistakes. He had tried for too long to let his brain do all the work.

Sero gritted his teeth. He still didn't like the sound of that. He was still nervous.

Izuku noticed how his new companion was feeling and was getting ready to assure him when he saw a calm come over Sero's face. His expression steeled over. "I have worked too hard for this to act like a wimp now. If this test is too hard, I just gotta go down swinging." His mantra to himself ended, and he looked towards Izuku. "Don't you agree?"

Izuku couldn't help but smirk at the burst of confidence he had shown off. It was the exact sort of thing he was telling himself. "100% We have to go Plus Ultra!" He threw in the motto of the school, and shot out his fist in front of him to show he was being serious,

To his surprise, Sero misunderstood him and gave him a fist bump. "Yeah, Plus Ultra!" With that, the two boys were ready to arrive in the exam.

…

Izuku left his new friend to go find his seat in the auditorium when they were going to first assemble. He was sitting near the top of the assembly, in his own sections of those who seemed to be obvious misfits and oddities of those entering the exam. He saw Sero take a seat far below him, and scanned the crowd to see if he knew any more faces. Two caught his eye. The first was a kid that looked way too much like Ingenium for him not to be the little brother he talked about. He had only met the hero twice, though it seemed like him and Koichi were old pals. But each time it left him with the impression of how cool he was. Not to disparage him, but his little brother wasn't giving off that vibe.

The second was his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugou or as he called him, Kacchan. The aura of "Fuck you" and his spiky blonde hair could be recognized a mile away. He was glad he didn't have to interact with him for now, mainly because he was a negative nancy. Or as Kazuho would put it, a giant asshole. It had taken him literally saving his life from a sludge monster while in costume to prove to him that, yes, he could be a hero one day. And that had just gotten him a 'Why the fuck did you do that, I didn't need your help, you fake ass hero.' But with him, he just assumed he was embarrassed. And Koichi called Kazuho a tsundere!

Present Mic began to go into his spiel about welcoming everyone and explaining how the practical would work. He kept an eye on it to make sure that they weren't making a big change to it, but the standard 1, 2, and 3 point robot targets with the 0 point lurking stayed the same. Ingenium's brother had made sure to clear that up while trying to admonish U.A. for their lackadaisical explanation while also calling out Kacchan for being an angry hedgehog. Okay, so he didn't actually say those words but he overheard one of the fellow misfits around him make the comparison and he thought it was hilarious. Even if it wasn't that accurate.

The written exam came first for him, and went about as well as Izuku predicted it would. He had been in cram classes for the last few months, so knowledge on the subjects came easy. It also helped that the topics covered, while not the same as the previous year's test, were in the same ballpark. He didn't recognize anyone near him, so he focused on doing the best he could with the test. It was a margins game at this point, and if he ended up on the edge of making the cut or not he wanted everything working for him. Leaving the testing room and heading to the lockers, he felt confident he had done everything he could for the exam.

While he had realized quickly he wasn't taking the exam with anyone he knew, he was pleased to see Sero in the locker area, preparing to leave for his location.

"How'd you do?" He asked, once he saw Sero looked ready to go out. He noticed his oddly shaped elbows and assumed it had something to do with his quirk.

"Ehh, good enough I think. I just have to be awesome out in the exam, you know?" His new pal admitted.

"So many fucking extras, get out of my way!" A loud voice was heard making his way to the exit out of site. Sero's face grimaced as he realized something.

"Hey, Izuku. Are the people we took the written part with the ones we take the practical with?" He asked to Izuku, who was busy getting his gear out of his bag at this point.

Izuku could only nod. "Yeah, they do. Is something the problem?" Though he already had an inkling of what it was.

Sero let out a long sigh. "Man, that means that guy calling everyone extras is gonna be there. You know he actually asked the proctor if we were taking the real test?" He shook his head. "Ridiculous. I hope I don't have to deal with him while I'm trying to pass."

Izuku put his boots on, making sure they were set to the default mode. "If you want to avoid him, just don't go towards the explosions."

"You know him?" Sero was surprised by the advice.

Izuku was wondering how to put this. He could just say everything he knew Kacchan, but it kinda wasn't fair to him. Sero should make his opinion based on what he sees, not on what he says. "Yeah, he was an underclassman at Aldera. He thinks he's gonna be the best and, well, no one has proven him otherwise." He decided that was a safe compromise.

Sero shook his head, and noticed Izuku putting on a very unique belt. From what he could see it had four pouches in the front, three of them the size of a pant pocket and the other seeming like it was fit for a large can. On the back he assumed there were another 4, but the one peeking from behind his hip opposite of the can pocket seemed very wide. "So is this the support gear you were talking about?" He noticed a pair of gloves peeking out the bag. This was a lot of support gear. "Must have been expensive." He couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on with his fellow entrant. A ronin with a bunch of gear?

Izuku had to nod. "Yeah, raw materials for this kind of stuff isn't cheap. Fortunately my boss has a friend that owed me a favor and paid for most of it." He was really lucky that Captain had mellowed out since Koichi and Kazuho first met him.

Sero first thought about how it must be nice to have a rich benefactor, but the term 'raw materials' caught his eye. "Raw?" He asked out loud in a wondering tone. "Like, you made this stuff from scratch?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, most of it is my designs too. The only stuff I don't buy is the medical supplies and the rope. Only reason I can use these in the exam." He explained.

Sero eyes lit up in understanding. It was obvious Izuku had some sort of intelligence or technology quirk. He decided to make a joke about something he said though. "Yeah, I never need to worry about rope." A small piece of tape dispensed from his elbow and he plucked it off. "This always works in a jiffy." He grinned

Izuku finally had an answer to what was going on with the elbows, and thought it was super useful. He was a little like Kamui Woods, and had great potential in mobility. His ability to save people from far distances was a huge bonus, along with his ability to capture villains. He wondered about the actual strength of the tape, knowing it looked durable but wondering how much force it could withstand. It also meant Sero had to have significant upper body strength in order to succeed, which seemed like something he knew considering the obvious arm muscles and lack of distinctive leg muscles. It was too bad that he was limited to only his elbows judging from his physique, if he had some on his knees that could give him a great amount of flexibility in what he could do and could give him dozens of tactical opportunities his current quirk didn't offer. But it was rude to point out why someone's quirk could be better, like if he talked about how his mother's quirk had way too many limits to be that useful, despite how cool it was.

Sero stood there, catching bits and pieces of his mumbling and was equal parts impressed and disturbed. He liked being complimented and had figured Izuku to be a genius, but this quick breakdown of his abilities and mocking his chicken legs was off settling. "Dude, you don't need to tell me my life story." He put an end to the muttering which made Izuku blush red in embarrassment.

"Ah man, I did it again. I'm sorry, I know it's creepy and all." He was adjusting something on his belt, and two previously hidden hooks appeared. Through a previously unseen slip in the gloves wrist area, they were attached to belt. "It's just… I get way too invested in quirks and what they can do. I mean, it helps me understand things in a fight but it also has made a few people think I'd be too good at being a villain, you know?" It was one of Kacchan hanger-on's that made this observation that had made him so self-aware of it, especially when it was so true.

Sero seemed to think about it. "Yeah, I guess it would be. But you're one of the good guys, so I don't have to worry about that." In a mutter under his breath, he continued. "I guess I need to worry about leg day though."

Izuku chuckled at the self-deprecation. "We all need to worry about leg day." He pulled down on his belt two previously hidden hooks, and attached the gloves he pulled from his bag to them. He didn't need to put them on just yet, he could wait until they were at the exam site. "Well, there is no point wasting our time in here. We're both ready to rock this. See you at UA the first day?" He asked Sero with a smirk.

Sero pulled out his phone real quick. "We don't need to wait that long, buddy. Let's exchange numbers, we can maybe hang out before then. You are a pretty cool dude Midoriya."

"You too, Sero." He pulled out his phone and the two of them exchanged numbers. With a quick set of goodbye's, the two new friends went there separate ways to the buses that would take them to the practical exam.

…

The bus ride had been dominated by a few loud voices on the bus which gave him a few tells. One muscle bound boy was challenging another person who matched his physique, but he seemed more interested in making sure his candy bar's didn't get smushed. Another was a very obnoxious blonde guy who thought he was better than everyone else, saying he could be a better them than they were, which Izuku took as a clue to his quirk. He saw a few of the more frail looking people realize that they might be out of their league, which a few others (mainly the pink girl with horns, a tall guy who looked like a tiger, and a fiery orange haired guy with a burn scar on his hand) were doubling down on how they'd do.

He had a leg up on everyone else because he knew that there was no countdown, so as soon as he got off the bus he pointed himself towards the entrance while putting on his gloves. He also began to stomp the ground with both feet in an almost ritualistic manner, which caught the attention of a few people.

The tiger guy wandered up to him, looking at his gear and odd actions with a cocked eyebrow. "Yo, you okay. Did the stress get to ya?"

"Nope." Izuku was quick to respond, wanting to hear the second Present Mic announced the start of the exam. "Just getting ready." He kept stomping on the ground, building energy.

"I'm guessing… shock absorption then? Your quirk, I mean." The tiger guy seemed like a decent dude, but he wasn't in the mood to make friends like he had with Sero earlier.

"No. But you have the right idea." He hoped this guy did well.

"Secretive, huh? I hope that means you can handle yourself. I hope I don't steal too many of your kills." He flexed his claws to show off his strength.

He looked at the claws, along with the rest of the guy, and shrugged. "If you can take down that many robots with claws like that." He was being honest with the assessment. He would probably do fine against one pointers, and could take out a few two pointers, but they would be useless against three pointers. And you had to take down three pointers (or get a ridiculous amount of rescue points) to have a chance of success.

The tiger guy growled a little bit at the insult. "Watch me." He puffed his chest.

Izuku took the minute to adjust his belt. "Sorry, I plan on being busy."

He almost had time to enjoy the tiger guy's smile at the comeback, but all of a sudden he heard Present Mic's voice booming. "Alright, get going!" With that Izuku clenched his toes to activate the spring in his boots. With all the energy he had built up in them with his stomping, he exploded towards the entrance and at a one pointer right by the door. Just as Mic was explaining to everybody that there were no countdown's in real life, his group watched as Izuku smashed the head of the one pointer in with his fist.

Izuku shook his hand, punching metal hurt. He made sure to activate his glove's batteries, and then began running to the two pointer out of sight of the now rushing in crowd. He had business to attend to.

He rushed the two pointer, ducking a slow attack by its arms and a barrage of second volt level punches to its core. The foe took a little physical damage, but the electric shocks were enough to shut it down. Proceeding to pull a swim move on the robot, he ran by it. The tiger guy suddenly ran past him, having caught up, and began to maul the one pointer that was on Izuku's left. Then, in a flash, he leaped towards the other one pointer on Izuku's right, mauling that to take it out of the game. The three pointer in the area than revealed itself coming from behind the corner of the building, trying to take out the tiger quirked boy. Izuku began to gallop with the extra spring from his boots, and jumped over him to drop kick the three pointer's arm away from the unsuspecting exammate. Quickly getting up, Izuku notched up his gloves to a level three volt and smashed a pair of wild blows at the three pointer. It was enough to knock it out of the game.

The tiger guy looked scared at the unforeseen foe that had almost taken off his head, and was pleased to see Izuku had taken care of it.

"Spend less time on each robot, but good form." Izuku complimented him. "Watch out for the big ones." Izuku couldn't hang around as he began to run down an empty street to find new foes. Thankfully the tiger guy didn't follow, since he didn't want to compete against him right now.

He was annoyed when the next robot he came across, a two pointer, was destroyed by someone's tail attack but made up for it by knocking the lights out of a nearby one pointer. Finding another one just around the corner, he destroyed it with a level two punch.

Izuku kept running down a street and found four robots with a pair of girls fighting them. The pink girl was flinging what looked like acid at a three pointer, and another was trying to headbutt a two pointer into submission. Izuku took his chance and quickly ran up on the other two pointer in the area, knocking him out with a flurry of low volt punches. The fourth robot, a one pointer was coming towards the girl using her head as a weapon was quickly destroyed by a wide acid attack by the pink girl. Izuku was prepared to run as the area had been cleared, but a yelp of the headbutt girl surprised him.

He heard the pink girl yell out 'Sorry' as she fled the scene, and he locked his eyes on the girl who was covering her chest area. There was an obvious degradation of her clothes, with some skin around her neck showing. It was obvious what had happened, especially as she saw him looking and yelled "What the fuck do you want, pervert!"

"I'm guessing pink girl destroyed your shirt, right? You can't let that stop you from fighting." He could afford to give her a quick pick me up. No reason to see her lose because she is embarrassed.

"Not just my shirt." She admitted, completely embarrassed. "So look the fuck away, pervert."

Izuku instantly understood what happened and blushed, looking away. Still, it wasn't fair she had to cut her exam short a few minutes into it. An obvious solution, much to his chagrin, popped in his head and he knew he had to follow through. Taking off his gloves really quickly, he quickly removed his shirt to her loud yelp.

"What the fuck are you thinking! Are you really gonna pull something here?"

He turned around and walked towards her with his shirt in hand before tossing it to her. "Just...put this on. You don't deserve to fail over this." As soon as it landed by her he turned around, making sure the coast was clear. "Just, be quick. I don't have all day."

The girl quickly realized what he was doing and decided to ask no questions. Quickly discarding her acided clothing she discreetly pulled on Izuku's shirt. As soon as she made sure she was decent, she looked up to see him slam the top of the can on the ground and began to shake it rapidly. A three pointer was just coming around the corner.

"What are you doing?" She asked, obviously confused.

"You done yet?" He asked back before chucking the tall can at the incoming robot. It managed to land right in front of it, and exploded as a blast of foam covered the robot and can shrapnel imbedded into it. Izuku followed it up by running at the blinded robot and slammed his foot against it. With unexpected force, the robot stumbled back and fell over, defeated.

"What the hell was that thing?" She stood up and walked towards the defeated robot covered in foam.

Izuku trusted she had put on his shirt and ran back to get his gloves. "Supposed to be a fire extinguishing device, but a decent grenade in a pinch. Better get moving."

She nodded at him, as she prepared to run south of their location. "Thanks for that th- what happened to your stomach?" She noticed as he stood back up from picking up his gloves.

Izuku looked down, seeing the scar was visible. This was why he didn't like being shirtless, why he wore the shirt he was going to use in practicals in the morning. It was a healing scar, but a bit jagged and a few inches long above his belly button. He didn't mind her concern, but now was not the time.

"A villain attacked me last year, I got better. You can keep the shirt. Good luck!" He quickly explained and left, knowing there was more he had to do. He left her in the dust as he began to worry about all the robot wreckage he was coming across. He managed to stumble across a two pointer that he took down with his gloves, but he was getting worried. He knew what was coming soon, and fifteen points were not enough.

He listened for combat, and rushed to the scene, knowing he might have to steal some kills. It took him a minute, but he came across a gathering of students challenging robots. He knew he had to be quick in doing this, so he looked for the people dealing with mismatches and decided to exploit them. A boy with long purple hair was trying to fight a one pointer but doing poorly, so Izuku had no guilt about knocking it out with a level three volt punch from behind. He charged the three pointer the meathead from the bus ride was trying to take out, and knocked it over with a spring loaded dropkick. He followed it up with a pair of volt punches to make sure it stayed down. The meathead complained. "Hey, don't steal kills."

"This is to get into U.A., I can make friends later." Izuku pointed out as he quickly left the scene, but not before taking out a hapless one point robot strolling on by.

He was getting worried, twenty points and his right glove was probably down to fifteen percent charge. He could also hear in the distance the rumblings of a large mechanical creature, no doubt the zero-pointer. Looking for robots, he thought he could grab a few points when he saw the candy bar guy surrounded by all three types of robots. As he rushed towards the scene, however, the guy began to lash out at the robots and made quick work of them. Izuku saw another pair of two pointers in the area that looked freshly defeated, and realized how much this guy had been cleaning up. He was about to turn away when he saw the candy bar guy collapse. Knowing that wasn't a good thing, he ran towards the guy. "You okay, man."

"Too much sugar. Too… tired." The guy managed to spit out, staying on hands and knees around the carnage he had made. Izuku figured it must be a side effect of his quirk (sugar eating boost? It did explain the candy bar care) he figured the best thing to do was to get him out of dodge. He ignored the voice in his head saying he was only doing this for the rescue points, as he helped the guy stand up and directed him to relative safety in the entryway of a nearby building. The zero pointer was on the field and chaos was all around, so Izuku could only remind candy bar guy to look out for danger and he left him there to keep fighting.

He was rewarded by a pair of one pointers that he rushed towards, taking care to take them out with only left handed level two volt punches. It took a few punches for each, and one of them got a decent swipe on his ribs, but they went down for the count. He kept running towards the zero pointer but to its side, still looking for any enemies. His gloves were low on charge, and he knew he would have to go to his belt to make it the rest of the way. A two pointers drifted in front of him, and he pulled from two pouches two different items. The first was a smoke bomb that he deployed, blinding the machine from his doings. Then, he grabbed the rope in his back pouch and made a quick but large lasso. Listening to the machine's movement's in the pepper cloud, he waited until he knew where it was going to escape it from and threw his lasso there. Perfectly timed, one of its legs stepped into the lasso and Izuku pulled it tight. The machine was off balanced and when it tried to step with a different leg, the one other leg buckled as it couldn't support the weight of the machine. As the machine came crashing down, Izuku rushed in and delivered a shockwave kick to its center, putting it out of commision.

He freed his lasso from the robot and began running again. He had no idea how much time he had left, but he needed to find something else. A one pointer was found running from something, maybe another examiner, but Izuku quickly finished him a level four volt punch, draining its battery. Overkill, but he could only use it for one punch. He was now behind the chaos of the zero pointer, in its trail of wreckage and ironically in the safest place you could be.

He wasn't the only person with that idea as he noticed a few people there with him. Some of the few remaining robots had fled here as well, and were paying the price. Izuku focused in one of the guys who was running from a three pointer he couldn't beat and saw his shot. Using his lasso to keep the robot in place, he pulled himself with a boost from his right foot towards the robot and knocked it out with a level four volt punch, draining the battery from his right hand. People were watching him after that stunt, but he didn't care. Izuku decided the lasso could wait as he still had to keep fighting. Desperate to do anything, he reached into a different pouch that had a spike strip ball as he tossed it in front of another one pointer that no one had finished off yet. With one last spring boost with his left foot, he flew towards the robot slowed down by its damaged tire as he threw a big right hand at the robot. His momentum sent both him and the robot into the ground, but Izuku was able to roll away. Another one down. Now if he-

"That is time for your entrance exam! Please return to the entrance of the grounds to see any medical treatment and return to the main building."

He wanted to collapse on the ground. He was so tired, he had pushed himself to the limit. But instead, he gathered up his spike strip and collapsed it back into the ball and got his lasso and fitted the rope back in its pouch. He began to stumble towards the entrance, but a few people came around as they saw how tired he was. He was also getting a few compliments (with other comments).

"Dude, your stuff was awesome! The lasso knockout was epic."

"Where is your shirt, man?"

"That last punch was epic!"

"Is this all gear? You must be crazy smart!"

"That scar isn't from this, is it?"

"You got bruised ribs, those feeling okay?"

"That was hella cool."

"How many points did ya get?"

Twenty nine. He had managed to get twenty nine villain points. That was definitely a lot, maybe even more than he expected to get. But it didn't matter because what got people into U.A. was the rescue points. He knew he had helped a few people, but how many points was that worth? Especially with the curve they told him he would be facing. Would he get enough?

…..

And this is where the first chapter ends. I ended up re-writing the first half of this story, and I'm sure I can write this better, but I would rather get on to the next part of the story. This part is just meant to introduce this Izuku Midoriya and kind of getting to know him and see how things change in the exam. As you can see, I went a different route with completely removing Uraraka and Iida and that whole arc and making a new one. In fact, this story is going to have a few significant changes to who is in which class, and for good reason. Basically, because quite a few people have a different amount of points, it changes where they go. Also, the balance seems wonky. Why does class 1-A get 6 of the top 10 and all of the top 3? So I'm going to be mixing it up a little bit. So hello Juzo Honenuki (Quirk: Softening), Jurota Shishida (Quirk: Beast) and Pony Tsunotori (Quirk: Horn Cannon). And good luck Ojiro, Shouji, and Uraraka, I hope you enjoy Class B.

Yeah, I'm putting Uraraka in a different class. The pairing is IzuMomo (as the tags say) so I don't feel that bad about it. I want Pony in class 1-A and I feel like Uraraka is the best girl to replace her for class 1-B. I hope that doesn't kill your interest in the story, I'm just trying to shake things up a little bit so it doesn't read like every other fanfic that follows canon closely does.

Tell me what you think, and I will be back with an update sometime soon.


	2. The Ronin Life

"Deku, I thought your boss was the stripper, not you? Where the fuck is your shirt?"

In spite of himself, Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose. Three different times since he had gotten back from the exam had he been asked about the shirt. The first two were in the locker room as they saw he put on his sports coat without an undershirt. While the first guy asked about the scar, Sero had the common sense not to bring it up when he noticed it. They had been discussing their villain points, where Sero had a lowly 17 points because Bakugou had been hogging them all during the test. When the subject of rescuing people came up, though, Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. Sero had been using his tape to help people out of sticky situation throughout the exam, including saving someone who couldn't outrun the zero pointer because of their exhaustion. Izuku was sure he would get major rescue points for that, and now the main hope was that Sero didn't bump him out of the school! Izuku had quickly lied to the third girl saying his shirt was destroyed because she was being nosy, but hid his scar with his coat.

Kacchan had been the fourth person. Sero couldn't help but look a little confused. "A stripper? You work for what now!"

"No, she's an idol, Kacchan, why do you say the things you do?" His focus turned from his new friend to his old one.

"Coulda fooled me, with how she bounces around. But what the fuck happened to your shirt. It is freezing, are you an idiot? Tch." At the end, his childhood friend showed he was at least the tiniest bit concerned for him.

"Look, someone got reckless and ruined a girl's top. They needed a shirt so they could continue, so I gave it to them." He quickly explained.

"Why the fuck were you wasting your time, dumbass? The point of the exam was to beat up the robots, not worry about other fucking people." Bakugou pointed out. "Were you so shit you just gave up halfway through and played wannabe some more?"

Izuku couldn't help but grin. The exam was over, so it was okay for him to reveal the twist. "Actually Kacchan, rescuing people gets you points as well. They don't tell people about it so they can see if they have a hero's instinct."

Both Sero and Bakugou were surprised. "Wait, so I might have a chance still? I did save a few people who couldn't outrun the zero pointer." Sero asked, actually feeling confident.

He nodded. "Yeah, I figured you had a good shot when you mentioned that earlier.. How about you Kacchan, did you help anyone?" Izuku politely asked.

"Fuck off Deku, I didn't need to save anyone's ass cause I was kicking the enemies." Bakugou had a bit of a blush in embarrassment in seeing that how he had likely gotten a zero in something (even as stupid as rescue points.)

"So, uh, Kacchan, how many points did you end up getting. You were taking out the two and three pointers like they were nothing." Sero tried to steer the conversation to a different place. He quickly realized he made a mistake when Bakugou wrapped a hand around his throat.

"Deku only gets to fucking call me that because he is too stupid to stop. If you say it again, I will end you Soy Sauce Face. I am Katsuki Bakugou, future number one hero. Do you understand?" Bakugou glared at the boy.

While Sero was looking terrified, Izuku let out a long sigh and grabbed Bakugou's elbow. "Come on, it's not like he knew your name. Lay off of him."

"N-no I get it! It was kind of rude...I mean it is a… I shouldn't have assumed your name Bakugou-sir!" Sero was doing his best to maintain survival at this point, but the two of them seemed to relax the tension in him. Slowly, he let go of Sero's neck.

"Whatever fucking Deku. I hope you remember that Soy Sauce Face if I see you back here, understand me?"

"Yes, Bakugou-sir." Sero had seen the carnage he could do and didn't want it directed at him.

"Don't you have some studying to do, Kacchan? I know finals are in a few weeks." Izuku interjected.

"Does it look like I need to do some studying for some stupid ass lame finals?" Bakugou looked almost offended at the statement.

"If you want to make sure you get number one in the year, probably." He was honest to him.

Bakugou's eyes narrowed before a groan came out of his throat. "Whatever, Deku. Get a fucking shirt, no one wants to see you stripping." He waved off the duo as he left towards his house.

"Bye, Kacchan." He waved him off and turned to see Sero with a questioning look on his face. "What?"

"An underclassman you know?" Sero pointed out what he said earlier in the day.

Izuku let out a sigh. "Yeah, I was trying to be nice, you know, let Kacchan make his own impression. Yeah, our parents go way back. We have known each other since we were in the crib. His mom made me watch him to make sure he 'didn't get into anything stupid' cause I was older and he was the only person I really knew my age, but he always hated that." He gave a quick rundown on their past. Taking a second to think, he sighed. "He's probably gonna hound me about how I did and brag about how well he did when he remembers to do so. My mom likes to joke he's the little brother she is thankful she never had." He joked to Sero, who began to laugh.

"That is a good one, man. If I do get enough points to make it, I'm not sure I want to be in the same class as him. He is way too intense. And he called me Soy Sauce Face like...what does that even mean?"

Izuku shrugged. "I don't know, but it probably means he might respect you a little. He calls most people our age 'extras.'" Sero burst out laughing again at the ridiculousness of Bakugou. Then, he thought about something else.

"He calls you Deku, Midoriya… what does he mean?"

"It means like a puppet, since I always listened to his mom to watch over him." Technically it had a second meaning, but there was no reason to go into that.

Sero scrunched his face. "That is kinda lame. I mean, he definitely got the better nickname the two of you. People call you anything else?"

"My boss calls me greenhorn." He admitted.

Sero took a glance at hair. "I definitely see why. But you said she was like an idol or something? What the hell?" There was definitely a hint of jealousy in his voice.

Izuku wavered his hand. "I mean, kinda. She is independent, and a lot of her shows are technically illegal since we don't have permits, but she is pretty popular around here and most people would recognize her."

"How'd you get that gig?" Sero wondered aloud.

Izuku told him the story as they walked towards the train station so Sero could go back home, and agreed to catch up once the results came in. Seeing him off, Izuku rushed home while ignoring even more people ask about his shirtlessness. Thanking the heavens his mom was out shopping at the moment, he put his gear back in the closet and put on a regular shirt. He knew his mother too well to mention helping a girl his age in need.

…

It was Friday, which meant Pop Step had her duties to upkeep. Izuku had managed to get her a legit gig singing at Mangalore Park in their weekly Friday Evening Entertainment event, but that wasn't enough for Kazuho. So she decided to have a 'surprise' show near the old warehouse district that Izuku strategically leaked on social media to her supporters. As Koichi was at his day job he was unavailable to assist so he found himself running both the technical and security side of the show. He had to make sure her speakers were running, her backing tracks were in the right order and to make sure the electronics stayed working while also making sure local police or heroes that didn't support Pop Step were seen in advance so they didn't get arrested. Again.

He had been super lucky that he didn't get processed, as one of their connections in the police department made sure they were just waved off with a warning. Thankfully it had only been a show and not the other half of their activities, or else there would be no saving them.

Back to his gear, he was spread thin and getting worried. He was lucky that a few of the older fans in the cheer section were wise to the need to avoid legal repercussion and were helping him with keeping watch, but it meant he had to keep tabs on them. Also, a few of the new tracks Kazuho had downloaded for her to use were not properly named so it was a race of transferring them to a different device to listen to in order to determine what song it was. It wasn't too out of the ordinary, so he was determined to see the event through.

Pop Step was a little past halfway in her planned set, advertising her Mangalore appearance by hinting at her singing 'one or two' new songs that made Izuku groan in the short term. They were little diddies that she was proud of but he didn't think was ready. He was caught up with trying to figure out what they could do in the four or five hours in the interim to spruce those songs to performance ready when he felt someone grab his shoulder. Immediately worried it was the police shutting them down, he quickly looked around at his eyes in the crowd to see why no one had warned them. He was thankful to see that it was in fact one of the eyes coming to talk to him.

He saw who it was and fought the blush immediately. She wasn't part of the old guard of fans, but she was just as enthusiastic as the rest of them. She had to have been about his age, and was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. She was easy to recognize between her mature composure and tall ponytail.

"They sent me to warn you Mt. Lady is coming this way. It appears she heard the performance in giant form and has decided to do something about it."

He nodded, trying to keep his composure before sputtering out, "Th-thanks. Do you know where from?" He had to make sure they had a good exit plan.

"She is coming by car from the west side of the city, probably will be here in two or three minutes."

Getting his mind straight, he immediately went back to the mix, easing it into silence. He could feel Kazuho glare at him, but she was smart enough to know what that meant.

"Alright my lovely fans, it appears trouble is on the way! I have to bounce my way out of here, but remember I will be performing a full set tonight at Mangalore Park! Don't miss the fun!" With that, she bounced off the old warehouse platform she had been using as her stage and jumped to the roof. Izuku quickly packed all the electronics into the back bag while grabbing the two speakers, one with each arm. The girl saw him grab the heavy set up and looked concerned.

"Hey manager, do you need some assistance?" She asked politely, looking ready to grab one of the speakers from him.

"Th-thank you for the offer, but I can't. You know, idols want their privacy and all." He was quick to make an excuse, even if it was a halfhearted one.

"Oh well, thank you for assisting Pop Step in all her work! I wish I could attend tonight, but my family is having dinner together."

"Oh, that's, I mean I understand. No big deal. I have to get going so I don't get- well stopped by the police but I'll tell you how much you support her."

Her smile made him want to melt. "Oh thank you again, manager! Tell Pop Step I wish her best of luck." She waved to him as he began to backpedal away.

He just wildly nodded. "Yeah, no problem. Hope your family dinner goes well." And with that he began to run quickly the two blocks to Kazuho's van. Said girl jumped off the roof just as he was crossing the street to it, landing right by the side door already out of her idol costume. She opened it for him as he quickly put away the speakers and reached to take off the bag he had been carrying.

"Hope your family dinner goes well?" She snarkly asked, making bhim finally blush.

"Sh-shut up. I was being pleasant." He knew this was going to be her go to joke for weeks. He couldn't believe how much of a dork he had been.

"Yes, and it wasn't the fact she is a total bombshell that got you flustered. Seriously, I sometimes wish I had a figure like that." Kazuho thought about the fan's impressive figure.

Izuku put away the bag. "I'm sure Koichi loves you just the way you are." He wasn't sure if this was a girl thing about being jealous of someone else's form, but he figured it was. This was not the first time she had made the complaint, and he was happy he know had the perfect response for it.

She gritted her teeth. "You know us girls can care about what we look like for ourselves and not just a guy, you greenhorn idiot!" She yelled at him while slamming the car door shut, making him jump back to avoid getting hit.

It looks like that was NOT the perfect response. "Oh, I mean of course you can. I shouldn't have assumed...I'm just saying that uh well, you wouldn't be you if you looked like a bombshell. You might have a really shitty personality or be super arrogant or not do heroic stuff. I think the you you are is the best, ya know?" He tried to argue against why fitting the male definition of beauty was a bad idea and why she was perfect as she was.

"Damn straight I know that, I just said sometimes." She giggled as she walked around the car. "And you agree that she is a bombshell."

Izuku paled at the realization. "No, no it's just… you called her a bombshell and I wanted to make sure you understood what I meant and I wanted to use a specific example so you would visually understand the metaphor and I mean I know she is very attractive but that isn't all that I look for in a girl I also look for things such as a kind heart and someone who is gentle and supportive and she does at least seem the sort so maybe that is why I get all flustered around her but it isn't a big deal you know cause this is-" His denial had gone into a full-on muttering storm and Kazuho was having none of it.

"Yada yada yada, you got a crush but you're a coward who doesn't plan on doing anything about it?" She analyzed as got into the driver's seat. "Am I right?"

He was embarrassed by her words as he got into the passenger's seat. "I didn't say I have a crush or anything. I just said she was attractive and seemed nice."

"Hey, most guys get a crush after seeing someone's attractive." She pointed out. Letting out a sigh, she started the van and got them out of their parking spot. "Eh, whatever. You'll probably get a new one once you get into U.A. Anyway, I promised the people new songs and I want to make sure they are perfect. I say we head back to my place to finish them and then get ready for tonight!"

Thankful that the conversation was over, Izuku happily agreed. "Sure, and I want to start with the chorus. You are definitely hijacking them from American pop! They don't sound right at all in Japanese!"

"So I was thinking about that, and I'm thinking I just singing it in English."

"Then we have to change the lines before and after the chorus so they fit better!" Izuku complained. And that was how the hours came to occur, with the duo perfecting the lyrics of the two new songs and filling in the backing music to fit the new timing the songs needed. Koichi arrived from work and helped with the last touches while Izuku finalized the details of the Mangalore show with its organizers. They left Kazuho's prepared to take on the big show with a new set list that was sure to make the crowd go wild.

The three of them waited patiently as the first musician got the crowd interested, a local electronic music DJ whose vibes were more vibrant and happy than what the popular electronic was. They were definitely enjoying his music, and the guy who looked not much older than Koichi looked happy at how everyone was enjoying things. They made sure to focus on getting Pop Step ready, but when the time came to set up their set Izuku asked Koichi to handle it. It was no big deal for him, he had done it before Izuku had joined the group.

He waited for the DJ to get out of the zone to walk up to him. "Yuki Hayashi? Hi, I'm Izuku Midoriya, I represent Pop Step and I have to say, you make incredible music." He held out his hand.

Hayashi looked him up and down before shaking it. "Thank you Midoriya. I have to say, you are rather young to be representing someone. No offense, but you were probably in elementary school when I first heard of Pop Step."

Izuku shrugged. "Well, I kind of fell into this job but I am making sure I do my best to help her succeed. Though I haven't heard of you before, no offense. How long have you been making music?" He pried into his past seeing what he would find.

"Technically for about a decade, but it was only in the last year I got serious about it. People seem to like what I've made, but I think I've only gotten lucky."

Izuku shook his head. "No, you have a lot of talent. The first song you played, I think you called it "You Say Run" was amazing. It made me feel like I could do anything, you know."

Hayashi obviously appreciated the compliment. "Thanks, I've been tooling with that track for years." His face changed quickly, however, into a more serious and business like expression. "It's not for sale, if that is where this is going Midoriya."

He quickly shook his head. "No, no, no. I wouldn't ask that, that song is clearly yours. I wouldn't ask even if Pop Step could sing to it. No, I was going to inquire on any unreleased material you were interested in selling."

"Unreleased only?" The DJ looked surprised at that request.

"Well, if you have played it then it is yours? At best, we would be doing a remix or cover which isn't what Pop Step does. We would credit you, of course, but we don't want to deal with anything messy like royalties in the long term."

"I'm assuming this is from experience?"

Izuku sighed. "We had to scrap a Christmas song two years ago because the backing track producer made egregious demands after she saw the initial success. So we have to be careful."

Hayashi couldn't help but laugh. "Such a young man with such wisdom on how the music world works. Do you plan on being a big executive one day, Midoriya?"

Izuku shook his head. "No way, no way. It's just I'm helping my friends with their passion. And if I want to help her, I have to get way too good at this."

Hayashi pulled out his phone. "I don't know about selling you anything I have made, but I wouldn't mind a collaboration project between myself and Pop Step. Should we exchange numbers so we can discuss this later? I actually have plans that I need to attend to."

Izuku agreed and pulled out his phone. "Sure that sounds good." Numbers were quickly exchanged and their phones were put away. "Just to warn you, I might not be the one to get back to you. Is that alright?"

"If that is how it goes, then I can accept that." Hayashi then continued to pack up his things.

"Hopefully it-" RING RING RING! Izuku looked down at his phone and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry Hayashi, I have to take this. Have a good day." He waved Hayashi goodbye as he went somewhere a little more quiet. He assumed Hayashi did the same.

After the seventh ring, Izuku accepted the call.

"Izuku! How are you doing son?" The rough echo of his future sounded through his phone, Izuku found himself with a small smile on his face. In spite of all the nonsense that came with it, it was nice hearing his dad's voice.

"Fine, just at work right now." He told him honestly.

"Work? Oh yeah, you had that job working for that singer girl. How is that going for you?" His dad seemed interested.

"Um, pretty good. She is on stage right now doing an event for the city." He told him.

"Really? That is kind of surprising. They way you told me about her I thought she was some sort of anti-government weird artsy types."

"No, no, she is pretty standard for an idol and all. She is just doing it her way and not through the system." Izuku told his father.

"I see, I see. And it doesn't have anything to do with your… other activities now does it?" His dad's voice dropped at the second part, trying to be more secretive Izuku guessed.

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Come on son, it isn't like this Pop Step girl ever hid the fact she also did vigilante work. All you have to do is google your name and see the reports. Surprising someone can have so much success with that kind of open secret nowadays. And a future hero like yourself son...I doubt you're an innocent bystander in her work, am I right?" His dad had him dead to rights with that accusation.

For the sake of appearances, he couldn't help but deny it. "N-no way dad, I wouldn't- I mean I plan on being a hero! I applied for U.A! That would be ridiculous!" He denied very strongly over the phone.

"Uh-huhhh. So, it is entrance exam season already right? So have you sat for U.A. yet? How did you think you did?" His dad asked, becoming legitimately interested.

"Much better, for sure. Last year I only scored 7 points total in the practical, this year I scored at least 29. They have bonuses they add to it so I don't know for sure." He didn't feel the need to explain the specifics to his father.

"So what are the odds you think you got in? +200, +150…-150?" His dad began to rattle odds out which quickly annoyed him.

"DAD!" He forcibly barked into the phone before dropping his voice. "Come on, I thought your probation officer not to talk about gambling."

Izuku could feel his father's mood drop from beyond the phone. As his dad began to respond, he could feel the embarrassment radiate off his words. "Right, right. Sorry, bad habit. I'm still learning to break it, you know son?"

Izuku looked around, making sure no one was around. "Dad you haven't been...gambling have you? You promised mom you would quit once you got out."

"I haven't made any bets son, if that is what you are worried about." His dad was being honest, but he saw he was leaving wiggle room.

"There are other ways to gamble besides betting." He pointed out.

His dad grumbled, but relented. "I spend maybe 1000 yen a week on scratch offs. Nothing major, really."

"Dad…"

"That isn't much more than a 6 pack! I've been doing good honest. Your mom has been getting my checks on time, right?" Izuku's father was quick to point out.

"Yeah… but it doesn't mean this isn't a bad idea. You need to go cold turkey, dad. Right now it is just a few yen, but you know it can grow."

His dad let out a long sigh. "Izuku...I don't have many friends here in Kobe. It's hard on me. I hate my job, but it's the only one that will hire a guy like me at any wage worthy anything. Let me have this." His dad pleaded.

Izuku understood. Izuku knew his dad hated his warehouse job, that he was lonely, that he wasn't happy with his life. "So why… why haven't you moved back here? There are alot of jobs out here that will hire, and I wouldn't mind seeing you around." He admitted. Then, being bolder, he added, "I think Mom would like to see you more, too."

He was worried at how his dad began to laugh. It was a laugh of a man that had been broken, so it was almost haunting to him. Finally, he managed to get a hold of himself as he explained. "That is my dream. I would love to be back where I grew up, with the woman I love and my fantastic son. But I'm a mess, and Inko deserves better than that. And I know I would mess it up. I still remember all of my bookies numbers by heart." His dad admitted to him.

The man had his demons he was fighting. Even if he was doing it all alone. It was something Izuku respected about his father, even though he had lost to those demons a decade ago. Ever since he got back he had been trying. Maybe that was good enough for now? "Alright dad. How about we come down in a few weeks if Mom is up to it. Does that sound good?" He asked, hoping to hear a positive response.

He could feel the smile behind his dad's words. "Wonderful. I hope she is. I hope she doesn't mind singing, I know she is working at that karaoke spot near the old beach. I haven't heard her sing in years. I think that would be nice."

"I think it would be too." He hadn't heard his mom sing in a long time as well.

No one spoke for what seemed like forever, until his dad broke the silence. "So you are doing good, right? Happy?"

"Yeah, yeah I am." Izuku responded.

"I was just calling to make sure… and check up since I knew it was entrance season. So it would be a good bet that my son makes it into U.A. this year, wouldn't it."

He knew it was a dad joke thing, but he couldn't help but groan. His dad chuckled. "I know. Send me a message once you find out if your mom is up to visiting, alright?"

"No problem dad."

"I'm gonna let you get going, I know you said you were at work-"

"Yeah, I suppose I should be doing something to help her." Izuku jokingly commented.

"Yeah. Good luck son. Talk to you later. Love you." His dad was very open and earnest with his comments

"You too Dad. Bye." Izuku hung up the phone, hoping his dad didn't notice his obvious dodge. He put away his phone and stretched his shoulders to ease the tension talking to him seemed to cause him. He made his way back to Koichi as Pop Step was getting into the swing of her set.

"What took you so long?" He was asked as he came walking up behind him, instantly overlooking the laptop to make sure everything was where it needed to be.

"I got the number from DJ Hayashi, he is interested in working with us. I tried to see if we could buy some of his tracks to use, but he wasn't interested." Izuku admitted, still focused on the electronics.

Koichi smirked. "Are you sure you're not meant to be an idol manager?" This was far from the first time he had taken his cover story way past the line of believability.

"He asked the same thing." His focus drifted from the electronics and he stared off into nothing in particular. "And my dad called."

An eyebrow was raised. "Really? What did he want?" Koichi didn't have the best opinion of Hisashi Midoriya, to put it kindly.

"To talk. To see how I'm doing. Normal dad stuff." Izuku blinked a few times and began to check to make sure the lighting was right on Pop Step. "I said I would ask if Mom wants us to visit him in a few weeks."

"A visit." A sour tone persisted on his friend's comment. "You are really going to spend the time and money to go to Kobe just to see him? Why can't he come back here?"

Izuku could only shrug. "It is what it is. If Mom wants to see him."

"Will she?"

"Maybe. If I pass, she might be in a good enough mood to go for it?" Izuku pondered.

Koichi facial expression shifted and shifted again, obviously thinking. "Alright then Izuku, you should be getting your results Tuesday, right?"

"More or less."

"Then how about Wednesday, I take a long lunch and the three of us celebrate you entry in U.A. Heroics course?" He sounded pleased with his idea.

"Aren't you assuming a lot?" Izuku was painfully aware of how much of a close call it was going to be. The entry rate of the course spoke for itself. You could be in top 5%, and still not even have a fifty percent chance of making it. That was why most kids that applied for U.A. had at least one backup school. But not Izuku. He had to go to the best, or it wouldn't be good enough. It was definitely a fatalistic way of thinking, as his two friends had pointed out. But it was how he was going about it.

"Come on, Midnight adores you! Snipe likes your gusto! Eraserhead… could have arrested you like three different times but didn't! You have allies in U.A. If it comes down to you or some other brat, you know you have it in the bag." Koichi was definitely lying through his teeth in the end. If it came down to some random kid and Izuku, he had no shot whatsoever.

But Izuku appreciated the effort. "Fine. I know that outdoor bistro just opened back up. How about there?"

"Sounds great. Now quick, she needs the sparklers." Koichi pointed out. In no time flat, Izuku had them in hand and was standing off stage to discreetly pass them off to Pop Step. Hero stuff came later, he was helping his friends right now!

…

It was Tuesday afternoon, and Izuku and his mother were making katsudon.

As they saw it, it was either in celebration or as a pick-me-up. Even though he knew he would be sick to his stomach if he failed. To come so close and to miss?

Thank god he had great friends and a great family.

The only sounds in the apartment was the sizzling of the pork cutlet in the oil and instrumental music Izuku had stumbled upon. His mom liked them more than he did.

"So honey, how did the Musu Tech interview go?"

Izuku gritted his teeth. Yesterday, he had been forced to take an interview with his back-up school to show he had the talent to get into their programs despite his gap year. He hadn't really wanted to go, but he knew it would be foolish of him not to. "Good. They seemed to like me." He admitted. It would be a fine place for him to go...if he didn't plan on becoming a hero,

"That's wonderful, honey!" His mother bit his tongue, he could tell. He knew she wanted him to go there instead of chase his dream. Not even stop chasing his dream even, but not risking his life. She was always protective of him.

"The mail should be here soon." He noted as they continued their cooking. Their conversation stayed stop-start as they continued the cooking process. His text ringtone broke up the monotony.

 _17+30 rescue = acceptance into UA!_

It was from Sero. He grinned at his friend's good fortune, and quickly began planning a response.

His mom got nozy and half-heartedly looked over his shoulder. "Good news from your friends?"

He quickly nodded. "Yeah. Sero, the guy I told you about from the exam? He got into UA."

"That's great for him dear!" His mom responded as he sent back a congratulation text.

"It makes me feel better about my chances too. He said 47 points was good enough for him. I think I got that much, easy." He tried to have a positive outlook on the situation.

"Even with the handicap? Something about 'less giving on rescue points?'" And she pointed out the flaws in his thinking.

He is quiet for a moment. "Yes, yes I do." He said, a little less confident than before.

His mom knew better than to push him, so she slowly turned the conversation towards Kazuho and her music. It was still stilted, with his mother asking a question and him giving an answer, but it kept the time going as they finished the dish. They had even gone as far as to set it out on the table when there was a knock on the door.

Izuku left everything on the table as he hurried to the door, quickly throwing it open to see a mail carrier who did not share his enthusiasm. She handed him a few letters and wished him a good day, which he only remembered to wish back as he closed the door. He hoped she heard him, he didn't want her to think he was being rude.

The top letter was from U.A., so he only gave the other two a cursory glance to make sure they weren't addressed to him. Seeing as they weren't, he simply set them on his mom's side of the table. She looked at him nervously, as he stared at the letter in his hand. Well, it wasn't a letter per say. There was a letter inside that would theoretically detail some important information a new student would need to know. But the important thing was with the hologram projection device. He walked slowly towards the wall, carefully opening the envelope as intended before looking back at his mother. He saw her tense, but nod in support. Gulping, he pulled out the device and set it to project on the wall.

A rat-like creature in a suit appeared on screen, which made his mother yelp but did little to startle Izuku. He knew who that was.

" _Why hello there, Izuku Midoriya. It is I, the principal of U.A., Nedzu! I have come to tell you of your results on your entry exam into our prestigious hero course._

 _Let me tell you something, , I don't think you know how long we questioned the wisdom of letting you take the exam again. On those occasions we have in the past, it was usually because a student was a few points away and showed promise in both combat and being a hero. Never have we let someone who performed so poorly take it for a second time, and to be honest, I didn't think we would._

 _And that is not to get started on your vigilantism. I know you know we know, but it is still something that gave many of us a great pause. We all know because of your circumstances you don't have the same limitations as your allies in a legal sense, it was still a very touchy subject. But you must have made friends with a few of our staff, whether they wanted you to be or not, and they have seen your incredible growth as both a potential hero and as a person. In fact, one of them put it best by saying, "The kid has a heroic spirit that won't be killed by a no. It would better serve us to nurture and not neglect that spirit." And indeed, look at how you have done!_

 _29 combat points, far better numbers than I expected to see from you. While it was clear you only got so far from your gear, a being like myself can appreciate the use of intellect to overcome any other disabilities. Your use of the fire extinguishing device as a grenade is the sort of on the fly creativity we need in our heroes! But, as you are well aware, even 29 points will not mean you pass our exam._

 _Normally at this point, a student would be surprised with the information of rescue points. But with you, how about we jump right into the numbers. As previously explained, your rescue points would follow under harsher scrutiny as we did not want you to rely on them to succeed. We identified three points in the exam in which you would have earned them, so how about we review them case by case shall we?_

 _The first was the saving of Yasei Torako from a three point robot, which would earn the average student twelve points. While I personally did not see you attempting to farm rescue points here, my colleagues questioned your reflex to the attacking robot. A few accused you of the possibility of letting the robot grow near to maximize the impact of the rescue. As such, we agreed to give you ten of the twelve points._

 _The second is your assistance of Loa Fifita during her unfortunate accident. Your quick thinking allowed her to continue taking her exam while being the sort of selfless we admire in our students. All seven of the seven points that could have been rewarded were._

 _Finally, your assistance of examinee Rikido Sato whose quirk left him tired and in need to help getting to refuge while he recovered was under review. And to tell you the truth, it did not pass the eye test in my opinion, along with the others. Considering the circumstances, it seemed obvious it was an attempt to game our system to better your chances of acceptance. However, I gave leeway considering your other actions and saw fit to award you one of the five points._

 _This totals 18 rescue points which brings your total to 47 points for the exam. As I am sure you are aware if you have continued your contact with Hanta Sero, is a passing grade! Welcome to U.A. Heroics course!"_

Balloons and streamers seemed to fill the air behind Nedzu as the transmission cut out but he wasn't bothering to pay attention. Izuku was balling his eyes out, the second he had said 18 it had dawned on him. His mother was by his side, matching his tears and he heard her words loud and clear.

"Oh my god, please forgive me Izuku I knew you could always do it! I had to be your doubt since I knew someone had to be it. I couldn't see you get hurt again. But it doesn't matter, honey! You did it! You made it into U.A.!"

He smiled, halfheartedly wiping the tears from his eyes even though they were still coming. He made it into U.A.

He was going to be a hero.

…

So this chapter escaped me in a few places, but I like where it took me so I kept it in (aka the whole DJ Hayashi sequence. Aka the real creator of 'You Say Run') I kind of wanted to flesh out Izuku a bit more, show how in this world where maybe he didn't have all the negative vibes Bakugou pushed out on him he would be a bit more level headed and having the ability to be pretty competent with most things if he put his mind to it.

And I doubt, except maybe in the Provisional Exam, we will see those two again. They were literally just filler characters that served a purpose.

Hope you enjoy, tell me what you think and have a good day!


	3. Everything And The Girl

Sorry about the delay, I expected this to take a week. Not a whole month. But between updating My Alternate Hero Academia and messing with a few other story ideas that I'm not going to do, it ended up taking a full month. Trust me, the other stories would have been interesting but they seemed too much of a good hook but no good plot behind it. One of them was going to be called, 'Chronicles of an Otaku Cinnamon Roll Transgender Cyborg Heroine Jesus.' I think the title alone explains both why it was so interesting but impossible for me to properly plan out to write. Anyway, enough with this bs, here is the story! I hope you enjoy.

…

.Izuku knew Koichi was paying so letting him order for the group was a reasonable request. But he hadn't expected him to splurge with a sushi platter.

"That, that is way too much! You don't make that much at your job do you?" He complained about the price.

Kazuho stomped on his toes. "Why are you complaining? If Koichi wants to splurge, let him! It's not like he has a ton of hobbies to spend money on." She pointed out.

"Is that supposed to mean something?" Koichi quickly asked his girlfriend, who shook her head.

"No, no! I'm just saying you don't waste your money on stupid stuff!" She clarified her stance.

Koichi nodded to the assessment. "Well that is true. Anyway Izuku, this is a celebration. You got into the top hero course in Japan! If I want to spend money on my friends success, why can't I?" He dawdled for a minute before admitting, "and I have been craving good sushi for a while now but couldn't justify paying for it."

Izuku let out a sigh, knowing complaining would get him nowhere. And if he wanted the food in the first place, who was he to deny him? "Fine, fine, if it means that much to you I won't make a fuss." Letting his annoyance extinguish, he eventually gave them a sincere smile. "So I guess then I have to think you for treating us to such a good meal. I didn't ever think to order sushi from here, but if you are shilling out for it it must be worth it, huh?"

Koichi's face suddenly grew nervous. "I didn't even think of that… I never had the sushi here."

Kazuho's joy at the meal grew sour. "Then why did you order it for everyone! I thought you knew it was good. Do you know how many places put sushi on the menu because they can mark it up and it is down right crap!" She pointed out the obvious concern.

Izuku couldn't help but defend his friend. "Hey, we don't know how good it will be! This place has great food, so why wouldn't the sushi be any different?"

"I would wager you are both correct. My father has a soft spot for this place and said while the sushi is good, it is a bit overpriced for the quality you get." A new voice interrupted the conversation.

They turned to the owner of the voice, who got a good look at the trio for the first time. There was recognition from both sides.

"Oh my god, your Pop Step and her friends!" The teenage girl excitedly pointed out.

"And you're the girl who tried to help greenhorn last week when Mt. Lady ruined our show. Small world." Kazuho noted.

"You remember me! That is so cool. I'm such a big fan of your work, Pop Step!" The teenager kept fangirling.

Izuku wasn't sure what the hell to do. The cute girl from before was right there, and he had no idea what to say. And he knew if he did say anything, Kazuho was definitely going to tease him for it. He wanted to put his head into his hands in frustration, but that would just look weird.

"You flatter me too much." Kazuho pretended to be humble at the praise.

The girl didn't realize this before shaking her head. "No, no, I am! I downloaded all the songs you have put out, and even found your original song 'Pop Saves the World!' I even seen all the movies you've been in...at least twice!"

Everyone at the table had been surprised at that comment. Her film career had been little noted in her community of followers, but this girl seemed to be eager about them.

"You have? Even Captain Celebrity Sets Sail?" Koichi couldn't believe anyone would sit through that trash twice. It may have been her biggest role, and a special place in their hearts since it was where the trio came together on set, but it was by god awful.

The teenage girl was less expressive when she nodded. "I thought...maybe there was a secret message to it? But it was really shallow in the end. But your role was so cool, it made the Captain look less like a jerk! And the part you had in Tokyo Idol Battle 3 was so cool, I don't get why you didn't get another big scene. Rocket Love was kind of fun...but you did kinda phone it in. You played a decent villain though! And the 'Illegals' documentary got me interested in you in the first place and really showed me how much good there was in the world, even if they had to break the law to do it! Not that what you guys are doing is technically right, after all, you should be focusing on meeting the legal requirements to be heroes but I understand!"

Kazuho couldn't help but smile at the girl's enthusiasm. "You are totally right but, between us girls, this is more fun." She joked around.

Koichi, however, was playing damage control based on one of the girl's comments. "Hey, hey, why do you think we are vigilantes with her! I'm just an office worker, and Izuku is just her music manager!"

The girl cocked her head with a dead eye look at the man. She was silent for a few seconds, staring him down. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

Koichi was a little intimidated by her blank expression. "Uh...yes?"

"It's really obvious you're the Crawler." Koichi couldn't help but be pleased that someone got his name right as she then pointed at Izuku. "And he is your sidekick Greenhorn."

Izuku's eye twitched, Koichi's eyes bulged out as his cheeks puffed out while Kazuho began to laugh. The teenage fangirl looked confused before her idol explained between laughs. "Oh my god… he didn't have a nickname...I just called him that… American slang for newbie… but it fits… it fits so well!"

"She has a point there, Greenhorn." Koichi teased as he calmed down from his near laugh.

Izuku turned scarlet in embarrassment. "I'm not a, i'm a manager! I just help, i don't have a name! Now she won't ever stop calling me that."

"Damn right, Greenhorn. I like you, what's your name?" She pointed to the girl that had brought her such amusement.

"Oh, my name is Momo Yaoyorozu. I didn't mean to be rude." The girl gave a slight bow when she introduced herself.

"Alright then, Yo-Yo, are you busy? I'm sure the platter is big enough for all of us." She invited the girl to the table while quickly giving her a nickname.

"Yo-Yo? Um, well, I was just out taking a breather. I have been studying a lot lately." Yaoyorozu gave the offer some consideration.

Surprisingly (not to Kazuho), Izuku made an attempt to convince her. "While Yaoyorozu, you know what they say about how eating helps brain function, especially fish. We wouldn't mind if you sat in." He was tapping his fingers together and not looking at her, but his voice came out clear and earnest.

Both of his friends saw how red he was, and Koichi was stunned at the initiative. He eyed Kazuho, who gave him a look that told him that he should back them up and that there was more to the story. Sighing, he piled on. "It looks like they don't mind the company. Don't worry about paying, this celebration is on me."

Momo was obviously surprised by the effort in their offer, and couldn't help but acquiesce. "I guess I don't have anything else to do, and it would be rude of me to reject such a kind offer." She took the open seat between Izuku and Kazuho, still looking a bit starstruck to be so close to someone she admired. "I didn't mean to interrupt, I was only walking by when I heard your argument and I could not help but give my input."

"It's no problem, it was helpful!" Izuku quickly commented on her statement.

The other two nodded. "It definitely helps to know it will be good, even if it is expensive." Koichi pointed out.

"It's nice to know I am helping." She clearly looked happy to be of assistance. "So, you mentioned this is a celebration. Can I ask of what? Are you releasing a new album? Is the speculation true that Crawler and Pop Step have finally begun dating? Are you in another movie?" Momo began to list up things she could think of celebrating.

"Wait, people think we are dating?" Koichi was a little surprised people had speculated that. She was an idol while he, as put bluntly before, had a plain face.

"You two are dating though." Izuku was quick to point out.

"I just thought people thought I was her 'loser leech'." He used air quotes of a statement he had no doubt read online at some point.

Momo was buzzing in excitement. "You mean it finally happened? You two got together? I thought you two looked so good together, I always wondered why you weren't dating sooner."

Kazuho shot a glare at Koichi. "Because as much as I love him, he's kinda dumb and can't see a great thing in front of him."

Koichi turned to Izuku from help but he only nodded. "Koichi, you guys should have been dating a long time ago. It was obvious."

"Not to me." Koichi pointed out. What was left unsaid, that Izuku knew, was that he felt she didn't like him like that or she could do better than him. It was stupid but now in the past.

Kazuho returned her attention to their interloper. "No Yo-Yo, this isn't a celebration of Koichi coming to his senses. This is a celebration for Greenhorn for getting his life together and finally getting into high school."

"Kazuho, you make it sound like I was on drugs or something and I didn't make it into school." Izuku complained.

"I did sort of wonder why you weren't in high school, Greenhorn. You can't be much older than I am, and you seemed more than intelligent enough to succeed in high school. And I doubted you were being taught by private tutors like myself." The teenage girl commented.

"Please, Yaoyorozu, please don't call me Greenhorn. My name is Izuku Midoriya, so you can just call me Midoriya."

She blushed a little. "It is rude to call someone a name like that, isn't it? I apologize, Midoriya. So if it wasn't something extreme like that, why are you starting high school late?"

Izuku got nervous because a pretty girl asked him a question that was embarrassing to answer, but he muscled through it. "I, well, I didn't make it the first time I applied so I had to take a year to improve myself so I could get in. And it worked!"

"And if I am not being nosy, what school would that be?" She was curious.

"This brat is leaving us behind and going legit. He got into U.A.'s heroics department, can you believe that!" Kazuho answered for him.

Momo's eyes lit up in surprise. "Really, you'll be going there as well?"

"Yeah, the letter came in the mail yesterday." He meekly admitted. Then, a pause, before he caught what she said. "What do you mean, as well?"

"Oh, yes, well, it must be a small world. I will also be attending the U.A. heroics course this upcoming year. They assigned me to class 1-A. How about yourself?" She asked in interest.

Izuku was gaping like a fish. The pop idol saw his state and slapped him in the back of his head to reset so he could start working again. "Uh, yuh, yuh yeah. Same."

"It looks like it was fate that brought you here, Yaoyorozu! I guess we are celebrating your success as well?" Koichi raised his water glass in a manner to inspire a 'Cheers.'

"Oh, thank you very much Crawler… what is your real name? I'm sorry, it is rude to call you by your vigilante names." Momo didn't want to seem rude.

"You can just call me Haimawari." He told her his last name.

"I don't mind you calling me Pop-Step but my real name is-"

"Kazuho Haneyama!" Kazuho was interrupted by an embarrassed Momo. Looking at the trio, she blushed. "I'm sorry but...I am a fan and your name is public knowledge." She confessed.

"Don't worry about it Yaoyorozu, Kazuho is pretty cool you calling her pretty much anything...like Mrs. Haimawari." Izuku slid in a dig at his boss, which he thought was fair.

Kazuho glared at him, obviously annoyed, before a conniving smirk spread across her face. "That is very funny, I-zu-ku." She drew out saying his name, which clued him in on how he had messed up really badly. "You know Yo-Yo, Greenhorn hear was talking about you last Friday after you tried to help him. You should have heard him talk about you, calling you a bombshell…" She let the words hang in the air.

Momo's blush became a darker shade of red while Izuku's was bright as he frantically tried to salvage the situation (in his eyes). "No, no! I didn't … I mean… those were your words! I didn't say anything that,,,provocative." He toed the line of not putting his foot in his mouth well.

"Fine, but you did call her attractive." Her sharp remark cut Izuku since he wouldn't lie and say he hadn't. Instead, he did his damndest to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"Um, anyway, Yaoyorozu, I didn't see you at the entrance exam. I'm pretty sure, I mean I have seen you before at concerts and I would have at least recognized you. So, uh, where were you in the auditorium?"

Her blush had died down, and Momo began to awkwardly scratch her knuckles. "Ah yes, well the truth is I wasn't at the entrance exam. I actually got in via a recommendation."

"Wow, we got ourselves a future top ten hero here!" Kazuho quickly joked, impressed by whatever potential her fan must have had to get such a thing.

"You must be quite strong then, wouldn't you?" Koichi couldn't help but be intimidated, remembering how his attempt at entering a hero course had flopped.

"Reco-recommendation! That is amazing! You must be...incredible if they let you in without taking the exam. Seriously, the only let the smartest and strongest get a recommendation." Izuku found a new way to make Momo blush at the gushing of praise.

"Well, I mean, we did take an exam to ensure we were up to stuff so it isn't as if we didn't prove our worth." She tried to humble her achievement.

"Still, I have to admit I am in awe of you, Yaoyorozu. I bet you are going to be a great hero." Izuku kept complimenting, making her blush even more.

"Awwwhhh" Kazuho added in a mocking tone. Izuku did his best not to draw attention to it.

"I'm sure you are going to do great. And if you ever do need help, I'm sure Izuku will be able to help you. He is always willing to do so." Koichi added mostly in earnestness.

"That...sounds good. I hope you do not mind your friends offering your assistance Midoriya?" Momo asked, hoping they were not being rude.

"Of-of course not. I'm sure you won't need it, but I will be willing to help if you want it." Izuku felt awkward, knowing Koichi meant well but it was out of his comfort zone.

She nodded slowly before pausing. She looked uncertain about something before looking back up. "Then...would you mind helping me...in combat sparring?"

"What?" Izuku flatly asked in surprise.

"Well, you have had no doubt the most experience of anyone in class about real combat. I know everyone else fought the robots for the entrance exam, but real people are much different. I would like to come into U.A. as prepared as I can be, so if you do not mind I would think it would be very helpful for us to spar before classes begin." Her words came with a few pauses and a wavering tone that grew more assured as she convinced herself the plan was wise.

Izuku looked to his two friends, each of them giving him different expressions. Kazuho was smirking like a cat that caught the canary, and he realized she was going to be of little help. He could already tell she was having too much fun teasing him (or even them). Koichi gave a knowing look that told him he thought it wasn't the worst idea in the world. Gulping, he nodded. "Sure, I can do that."

Momo smiled, a little surprised of his quick agreement. "That...is great! I go to a gym on the east side of town, called Athletic Hall. It has a combat room that we can use, and has top of the line equipment."

"Athletic Hall!" Koichi interrupted in a surprised tone.

"Yes, what of it?" Momo was confused.

"That, that place is so expensive. When I was looking for a gym to go to, it had an annual membership cost of 500,000 yen a year! I found a good gym that costed me less than 100,000 annually." Koichi was shocked this girl was casually going to such an expensive place.

She drummed her fingers on the table, a little embarrassed. "I… didn't know how much my parents spent for the membership."

"I knew it! I bet you are a rich girl, ain't you Yo-yo?" Kazuho pointed at her a little triumphantly. "You always gave off that feel. Not in a bad way, of course."

"Well, I guess that would be true. My parents have been very successful. I hope you don't judge me for that." Izuku could see that people had in the past. It wasn't her fault she had grown up in 'the good life.'

"I never would, Yaoyorozu. Just because your parents have money doesn't mean anything about you. A person should be judged by their actions, not by what they have." He tried to wisely tell her.

She looked towards him and smiled. "Thank you Midoriya. I'm glad you feel that way. I hope you don't mind going to such an expensive gym."

Something triggered in his mind. "Uh, not to be rude or anything but will I have to pay for a guest pass or anything?" As much as he didn't care if she had money, it didn't mean he should be reckless since he sort of...didn't.

"Of course not. Even if they did charge us to bring guests, there is no way I could make you pay for that. It would be my idea after all." She earnestly told him.

Finally the sushi platter came to the table, curbing the conversation as the four patrons began to dine on the good (but as Momo pointed out, not great) sushi and enjoyed more casual conversations about simple things.

…

They agreed to meet Saturday at noon at the Athletic Hall, and Izuku did well to hide his eagerness to meet with his future classmate when she was with the group. Koichi returned to his place of work, leaving the duo of him and Kazuho to walk back to her van which they had used to get here.

He was on edge as he felt the expression radiating off of Kazuho. The teasing he had done when he realize she and Koichi had finally gotten together seemed more foolish in retrospect.

"So, she gave you her number." She started, innocently enough.

He nodded, having spent enough time around her to know where it was going. "Yeah, I gave her mine. So we can contact each other in case something comes up." He told her the reason why they had done this, as if she hadn't heard it a short while before.

"And willingly giving up her Saturday to spend time with you." She began to turn the screw.

"To train and spar. Something a lot of friends would do for each other." It was safe to assume they were friendly with each other, him and Momo? That wouldn't be a hard thing to buy.

"So just a boy and a girl…"

"And a whole gym of people." Izuku quickly tacked on.

"An interesting choice for a first date, isn't it?" She turned the screw hard into his side.

His head dropped. "It's not like that!" He exclaimed aloud. "We're just classmates, maybe friends."

"For now." She added on with a grin. "Who knows what will happen once you get to know each other better and start spending time together."

Izuku gritted his teeth. "Why are you doing this Kazuho?" He could tell this would not be the only time she played matchmaker between the two of them.

"Because, Greenhorn, your little Yo-Yo is a total package. She is obviously smart, pretty cool to hang out with, friendly, shares common interests with you, her parents are loaded and, like you said before, she's a bombshell."

"I didn't call Yaoyorozu a bombshell!" He technically had, but it didn't count in his eyes.

"Whatever, fine, she's good looking. I'm just saying that she must be comfortable around you if she is going to invite you somewhere with her. So lean into it. You don't need to be a, and I quote your lovely little childhood friend here, a loser Deku about it. Man up, make a move, get the girl. Simple, right?"

"Can't she just be a friend?" He asked hypothetically.

"Come on Izuku, do you really just want to be friends with her?" She poked him in the head as they turned the corner to the block where they parked the van.

He grunted and swatted her hand away. He also didn't answer her question. Because, yes, maybe he didn't want to be just friends with the girl. But he barely knew her, and he thought it was a little ridiculous (and unfair to her) for his friends to try and pair him off. "Why yes, I should take relationship advice to the girl who pined after someone for five years before HE made a move." He commented as he entered the van by the passenger seat door.

"I don't have to drive you anywhere, you know that?" She was annoyed as she entered by the driver's door."

"And I don't have to help you run a show since I technically am supposed to be focused on getting ready to enter U.A." He came back with, putting on his seatbelt.

"The show won't be until tonight, I'm sure Koichi will be available. Or maybe I can get one of the fans to do it. I'm sure Yo-Yo wouldn't mind." She quickly came back with.

"Koichi is staying late, and you wouldn't trust any of them to do the stuff you need." Izuku pointed out the flaws in her threat.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Greenhorn. Get a guy a girlfriend and all of a sudden he gets a backbone."

She had the last laugh as she started the van, as he was blushing and embarrassed to even look at his friend. The plans were set to meet up for another renegade show that night, and he was dropped off at his place.

His mom wasn't in, as she had woken up already and was out for personal reasons so Izuku took the time to catch up with his various studies. While he knew he was a fair bit ahead of wherever U.A. curriculum was going to start, he knew he had to have great grades to keep up with the grind of hero studies so he was putting in the time now instead of pulling an all-nighter comes June or July.

He was only at it for twenty minutes or so when he got a quick text message that surprised him. It was even more surprising to see it came from his father, who almost never texted. He guessed he must have been at work, so the speed of it was key. A second, follow up text appeared before he could open it up.

 _Heard U.A. letters are out. You get in?_

 _And son, you talk to your mom yet bout visiting?_

He hadn't, but had been planning on it once he got the letter. Seeing no time was better than the present, he decided to ask her once she got back from her errands. Quickly he replied in a text.

 _:) Yeah I did! How did you hear about it?_

It was a fair question, since this stuff was usually kept on the down low and he hadn't mentioned it. It was also a delaying tactic, if he was lucky enough for his mom to show up shortly. Apparently his dad was right by the phone because he got a reply in a minute as he lazily looked over the chemical table.

 _Dashi got mad his kid didn't make it._

So, another parent then. Makes sense, literally thousands of kids had applied.

 _What did your mom say?_

It seemed like he couldn't hold it off until she got here.

 _Waited to ask until I got in so she was in a good mood._

 _She's out now, gonna ask when she is back._

He went back to his textbook, waiting for a reply from his dad. After a few minutes, he began to search his phone for hero news while half attempting to study, waiting for his dad to reply. After about twenty, he figured his dad wouldn't for a little while. Either he had to go back to work, or he didn't like his answer. Izuku decided it was what it was, and began to reimmerse himself in the studying.

That only lasted another ten or fifteen minutes before his mother arrived from her errands. She had been just out and about and talking with her friends.

"Izuku, what class did you say you were in?" She asked as she went over her talks with her friends.

He was still half-studying so was a little surprised by the question. "Huh, oh, uh...1-A. Why?" He asked her.

"Oh that's good. Katsuki is in that class as well. Mitsuki mentioned it when she told us about his frustrations with his rank."

Izuku let out a long sigh, having been hoping with Sero that maybe Kacchan wasn't in his class. He was a friend, but he was crude and ultra-competitive to a degree that was unhealthy in his opinion. Being the best was something Izuku understand, crushing everyone on the way was something he didn't.

"Sero, the friend I met at the exam, was in the same battlefield as him and said he must have done really well with all the robots he defeated. What was his rank?" He was curious about that however.

"You know how he is, he was so mad that he came in second. Apparently the boy in first place scored 84 in total, compared to his 77." She recounted to him.

Izuku's mouth couldn't help but hang open. 84? 77? First place alone nearly doubled him, and Kacchan beat him by 30 points! He could have doubled his villain points and still lost to him. Maybe it was the distance, but he hadn't realized how powerful he had become. Along with the boy in first, Yaoyorozu, and the other recommendation students. Everyone was so powerful in his class. And in stumbled in… Greenhorn. Him.

Shaking the jitters off of him, he reminded himself he had earned it and had proved himself worthy of standing alongside them. Closing his jaw, he just nodded towards his mother. "That does sound like Kacchan. He always wants to be the top dog." Deciding this conversation was perfect for a segue, he made one. "Anyway mom, I've been wanting to ask you about something. Dad called me last Friday…"

"Hisashi called you?" His mother was surprised, not expecting that apparently.

"I mean… he does contact me sometimes. It isn't like he ignores me." He made a defense of his father.

"Of course honey, it is just a bit surprising. I haven't really spoken to him in a couple of weeks…" She admitted.

"And it's about that. He was asking that, if it wasn't too much trouble, we could spend the day and go see him."

His mother became silent at the suggestion. Staring blankly, it didn't seem like she liked the idea, so Izuku elaborated. "He just wants to see us and, well, he is trying to handle his problems and he doesn't think he can handle coming back to town yet. I know it's a lot so I just wanted to hear what you think about it."

"Not yet."

She seemed to answer immediately after his argument. "Huh?" He reactively asked.

"Not… not yet. I, I'm not ready for something like that. It's just...it's just… not right now. Maybe, in a little while… when the time is right… and well" She began to mumble and go on, making Izuku quite aware where he got the habit from.

"It's okay mom." He cut her off. "I understand." Which was mostly the truth. "I'll tell him you can't right now."

She began to nod a little frantically. "Thank you, Izuku honey." Her eyes began to well up. "What did I do to deserve a son as good as you." She reached in for a hug, which he quickly leaned into and let his shirt get a little soaked.

 _Mom said she can't right now. Maybe later. Told her to call u._

He sent the text after his mother had finished her crying on her shoulder. He kept half-studying chemistry and half-looking at his phone for hero news for a few attention split, he accidentally took hero notes in the middle of his chemistry notebook. He ripped the page out to join the latest edition of his Hero Analysis for the Future notebooks (which reminded him he had to change the name of the last two, so brazenly called 'Vigilante Quirk Analysis Notes'.)

As he began to put away things so he could head out to set up the Pop Step, he finally got a text back from his dad.

 _Fine_

He could tell his dad wasn't pleased, but he didn't know what to do. It lingered on his mind on his way to meet up with Kazuho. They were quick to get to work, with Izuku doing his best to brush off the teasing she was throwing at him as they finalized the set list and her makeup.

Though calling her Momo Midoriya did garner a rather large reaction from him that nearly caused him to faceplant into her van.

It wasn't too long after sunset when they converged on their location. Using a nearby trio of trees as his out of the way base, Izuku set up the speakers and laptop. As soon as he began to play the opening background music, Pop Step made her entrance bounding into the scene with a flourish and a grin. They were taking a risk by playing in such an open plaza so close to Downtown, but they knew the rules. They had done minimal advertising for this show as Kazuho was treating this Pop Step performance as a recruitment to her fan base over a fan appreciation event. So the fact that the denizens of Musutafu City were slow to cluster to watch the idol break into song was no big surprise to either as they pressed into the first song.

About ten minutes in and into the third track, Izuku was happy to see a small crowd of fifty or so pausing to watch her dance and sing to the music. A few members in the crowd were regulars, but most were people who gathered to watch before they moved on to continue with their night so the show was looking like a big success. Watching the crowd, he didn't notice the person walk up behind him until there was a gentle tapping on his shoulder. Quickly turning, Izuku paled to see Eraserhead staring down at him in civilian garb. It was very similar to his hero garb, except without the goggles and a lot less scarf.

"Izuku Midoriya, why am I not surprised?"

That was incredibly worrisome, as he wasn't sure how Eraserhead knew his full name. He knew him as Midoriya, but he had never mentioned the full name. Unless he had gotten it from his brief encounters with the police. But either way, everyone knew using someone's full name was meant to tell them they were in trouble.

"Good evening, Eraserhead. Don't worry, we aren't breaking any laws with this show! This is a public plaza, performances are legal until 9 p.m., we are not violating the sound laws, we aren't panhandling or advertising our goods, and we aren't using any firework or firework related objects!" He quickly went through the list so he could prove they were in fact on the good side of the law. (Very shaky, but good.)

Eraserhead gaze lingered on him as he took a second to analyze the scene to determine if all of the points Izuku said were logical. Izuku noticed a glimmer of acceptance in his eyes, realizing he had been right in his assessment. He didn't get to enjoy it, as Eraserhead spoke again. "Indeed, but that isn't why I came to you Midoriya." He began, using his usual term for the boy. "And I ask you call me Aizawa, or sensei from now on instead of my hero name."

"Shit."

Aizawa heard the natural response of Izuku, even under his breath, glaring at him when he realized it. Izuku had the decency to look away in embarrassment.

But it was a natural reaction, one he should have seen coming. He had known from some time ago from Midnight that Eraser- Aizawa was a homeroom teacher from Year One Heroics Department. Considering there was two classes, it was fifty-fifty he ended up with the underground hero. Still, it was disheartening to know your teacher was famous for expelling students, even getting rid of his entire class this previous year by the School Festival. The earlier feelings of doubt tried their best to manifest again.

"I'm-I'm sorry about that sensei, I was surprised to learn you are going to be my teacher." He tried to explain.

"And that causes reason for profanity?" Aizawa lorded over him.

Izuku took a second to make sure everything about the show was going well and that Pop Step hadn't noticed the heroic interlude he was facing. Seeing it was good, he told the truth. "Well, uh, I heard from Midnight about how you often expel students… and since I had to work so much to make it… I guess I am a bit worried since you probably don't have the highest opinion of me." Normally he might have fibbed but his encounters with the man in the past told him he usually could tell when you were lying.

Aizawa took a moment to look up at Pop Step performance before looking back down at Izuku. "Regardless of what you may think, I respect your tenacity and desire for improvement. You want to be a hero with everything you have, a noble goal indeed. Even if I expel you, I have a feeling you would just continue your actions with her and Crawler." He told him.

Something in Izuku's head clicked. "And it would be better to nurture that desire then neglect it?" He asked.

Aizawa's eyes lit up in confused recognition of his words. "Where did you hear that phrase?"

"Principal Nedzu said a hero used it to describe me in his letter telling me I was accepted. That was you, wasn't it?" Izuku asked, confident he was right.

Aizawa glared into the abyss for a few seconds, a frown growing on his face. He was worried this distaste was directed at him. Then he heard the man speak. "Of course that little schemer. He would say that." It was obvious he had meant the Principal. He returned his attention to Izuku. "Yes, those were my words. You don't need to speak of it again. While I do believe in those words, I will hang on my ability to remove my trust in you if you break it. I expect you to give everything you have in my class and in every class at U.A. Do you understand?"

Izuku looked a cross of offended and in awe. "Of course sensei. Why would I give anything less to my dream?" He asked rhetorically.

He looked down and smirked at his student. "I knew there was a reason I didn't turn you in with your ragtag bunch of 'unaffiliated sidekicks'." Izuku stopped his own chuckle at the turn of phrase Koichi and Kazuho would pull out on occasion when working with established heroes. "And just so we are clear," Aizawa interrupted his amusement and regaining his focus, "your only capacity in working with Pop Step is as her manager?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Even that I probably won't be able to do much once I start classes in U.A. I have to focus on being the best I can be, right sensei?"

Aizawa gaze lingered on Pop Step performing one more time before responding. "While that is true, it would be foolish to neglect the ones who helped you here. Everyone needs friends, good friends. And despite their poor judgements, I think you have made a few good friends in them. Am I wrong?"

Izuku shook his head, grinning in how cool Eraserhead, his new sensei was. "No sensei, you are right. They are pretty good friends."

Aizawa let out a sigh, and pulled out his eye drops. Putting them in each eye. "Unless I run into one of her concerts again, I don't want to see you until the first day of classes. Can you handle that Midoriya?" He asked, beginning to walk away.

Izuku waved at his sensei leaving form. "No problem, sensei." He basked in the glow of how well that conversation went. Until he remembered he was doing something, and got back to work on managing Pop Step's show.

…

A few days later on Saturday, a quarter before noon, Izuku wandered with a gym bag over one arm and a phone in the other hand to the front of the Athletic Hall. Wearing a nicer looking casual clothing (not knowing what one wore to an expensive gym). He was shooting a text to Yaoyorozu asking where she was and that he was here. She quickly sent a text back.

 _Give me two minutes, I'm walking and just 2 blocks away_

Izuku put his phone in his pocket and stood by an empty set of bike racks, gently tapping on the metal to hide his nerves and pass the time. A very pretty girl was coming to meet him and hang out with him. He was also getting ready to teach someone about live combat situations and demonstrate his fighting ability. The nerves were coming in both directions at him.

"Midoriya, I'm here." He heard a voice call out from his left. Turning, he saw her arrive wearing a simple pink blouse and grey calf-high sweatpants along with her gym bag. She was also wearing a headband, no doubt to keep the hair out of her eyes.

Gulping, he waved at her. "He-hey Yaoyorozu. How are you doing?"

She smiled at him, adjusting her gym strap bag on her shoulder. "Good, good. And you?"

"Great." He answered.

She nodded, happy with his answer. She nodded towards the Athletic Hall entrance. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Yeah." He did another quick one word answer with a nod to accompany it. Finding that agreeable, she took lead and walked into the Athletic Hall and he quickly followed. He was hoping he didn't make a fool of himself once they got serious.


	4. The New Dekusquad

The next few weeks flew by for Izuku, as he balanced life with all of his preparations for finally realizing his dream of entering U.A. The first bit was his training sessions with Yaoyorozu, which after all this time was finally getting to a point where he felt like he had brought something to the table and wasn't just an awkward bundle of nerves that embarrassed her in a space that was her own.

The first session had been embarrassing to go through. The technology in the locker room made him feel backwards, even though it was a simple short term digital passcode that protected his belongings. It wasn't something you saw in many other locker rooms, most of which relied on good old built in locks or locks brought from home. Then the facility itself had so many different rooms for various activities beside the main workout room he knew he would get lost in there if Yaoyorozu wasn't there. Plus, through no fault of her own, he couldn't but get embarrassed a little bit every time he looked at her. Her athletic shorts left a lot of leg showing, and her workout top accentuated her chest.

Then, when they finally got to the training room, he ended up distracted as he saw a famous hero, Death Arms, training there out of costume. He nerded out in front of Yaoyorozu, which was a bit embarrassing after she pointed out he had literally fought with him before. She vaguely knew him in his civilian life, and didn't see why Izuku had gotten so worked up. And then, finally, when they got to the training, it was a bit of a mess. Apparently he had been doing warm-ups wrong the entire time he had been training. Well, perhaps less wrong and more not correctly. And then when combat began, he didn't go full out (because of the awkwardness of fighting a girl he thought was really pretty) and annoyed her very much. She even accused him of underestimating her and not taking her seriously. Which meant, to defend himself, he had to explain how that even including Kazuho, he was still uncomfortable around pretty girls and he did mean to take her seriously. Of course, he didn't understand why she was suddenly blushing after he commented that and forgave him until after they left the gym (which led him to sending an apology text about making her uncomfortable which she waved off.) They tried training for another hour, with somewhat better results.

He had honestly been stunned when she invited him to do a second training session, and he worked hard over getting past his limitations. It had been better, and was far less awkward for the two. The third session that he was coming back from was a breakthrough, which was a relief since he was feeling bad about not being more help to Yaoyorozu. The fourth and final session they would be doing had been this morning, and had been fun. Fighting did get the adrenaline pumping, and the two of them were able to enjoy their hand to hand combat that lacked real restrictions (since a fight against villains would rarely be proper). Even a few improper positions were able to be ignored, which would have been ridiculous to think about during their first session. Punching her breast when he had been aiming for her ribs had been bad, as was the time he had pressed his body against hers to prevent her from moving. And her grabbing his rear when she was trying to pick him up had been awkward as hell. He was very thankful that nobody he knew had been watching, or they would lord this over them for weeks. They had managed to come to the understanding that this was just practice and unless one of them took advantage of the situation, such transgressions would be forgiven.

Plus, he was able to spend some time with her outside of these sessions. They had gotten food together after the last two sessions, and had spent some time chatting whenever she was attending one of the Pop Step events he was directing. He ended up learning quite a bit about her, from her past (she had lived in 3 different countries and gone to 6 different schools in her parents quest to give her the best they could) to her dreams and eventually her quirk which amazed Izuku when he heard about it. Even with the demands of knowing the molecular composition of the objects created, it was a powerful quirk that would be a force against villains once she became a hero. He also learned of her immense appetite, a side effect of her quirk, and couldn't help but be glad she was paying for her own meals. He told her about himself, his past as a misfit hero lover who eventually found a few vigilantes that helped teach him the ropes and inspired him to take advantage of his brains and begin to tinker and build. He wasn't making anything revolutionary (and often a bit lower quality than what was theoretically on the market), but it was his work that got him there. It was less than a week until the introduction ceremony and he couldn't wait to see his new friend again. (And despite what Kazuho and Koichi said, she was just a friend. He had other things to focus on at the moment.)

On that note, his time with the duo had been definitely shortened since he no longer came with them on their vigilante activities. They had confirmed that they had multiple encounters with Eraserhead over the past few weeks, who seemed to be ensuring that Izuku had kept his word about leaving vigilantism behind. They had been going well, except for the usual issues like the rivalry of Pop Step and Mt. Lady and them having to outrun a few police officers who didn't approve of them.

Koichi had been busy with his real job, and thus Izuku didn't get to spend much time with him. They had hung out once or twice independently, but most of their time was spent working on Pop Step's idol career, both behind the scenes and on stage. As for his time with Kazuho, it was quite stressful. The first matter of business was coordinating a time with DJ Hayashi to discuss the plans for a project together. Determining how large the scope of the project was, the tone of the project, and how collaborative the production process was going to be all had to be determined before they could really get anywhere. There had been a phone call, but nothing was set in stone.

The second thing was handling the issue of paying idol events he could scrape up for her to attend against her fierce independent mindset towards her career, but that was nothing new. The third was evaluating if she was going to audition for T.V. drama that was looking for 'musical talents' for an upcoming arc in their next season. That was still up in the air, but needed to be decided soon. And the fourth thing was trying to get her used to independently operating her music programs again, since they had been upgraded since he joined with the duo. He was going to school again and thus wouldn't be as free to help her with her career.

Of course, that was far from the only things on his mind. There was still the topic of his dad, which was worrisome. His dad seemed to be still reeling from his mother's rejection of the idea of a visit so he had to try and do damage control. That consisted of getting back in touch with his father who had gone silent, and convince him to not feel down about what had happened. It had taken some coaxing, but his dad seemed in a better place.

It did help that Izuku had dangled a carrot to his dad, of coming to see him during the U.A. Sports Festival, where he could spend time with his mother. He even hinted (honestly) that he might even make a trip to Kobe back with him afterwards since students were usually given one or two school days after the spectacle. It didn't feel good to manipulate his dad like that but Izuku was just trying to help. He wasn't the same kid from before his dad's time away, he knew the situation and he was going to fix it the best he could.

Honestly, with all those headaches in mind, he could always rely on texting his other new friend to make things simple. Ironically, Sero had just sent him a text.

 _Dude! Just met a future classmate_

He raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting that. Technically, he had as well but what were really the odds? That out of all the kids that tried out for the exam, only 40 passed. And out of those 40, 2 of them found 2 completely different people who also passed. Not even counting the odds that about him already knowing a different classmate. It made you question if there was something actually controlling fate.

 _ **Really? What are they like?**_

 _Pretty cool, pretty chill. Nice guy._

 _ **How did you meet him?**_

 _Randomly at an arcade. His friend was bragging to a group of girls about how he was in U.A. Heroics class. I waited until the girls left and talked to him._

Izuku had never really thought about it, but he guessed it would make sense that some people would try to use their 'cred' about getting into U.A. to their advantage. Enough heroes did the same thing (a certain benevolent Captain came to mind). At least it wasn't the guy who tried to use it but his friend.

 _ **What's his name?**_

 _Honenuki. Juzo Honenuki. Actually, we are gonna hang out tomorrow. You wanna come up to Tokyo?_

 _ **Me?**_

 _Yeah dude, why not? It would be fun. We didn't get to really hang out after the exam._

 _ **That sounds fun. Sure, why not. Where should we meet?**_

While Sero was sending him the details about this whole shindig, Izuku contemplated what just happened. He was gonna go to Tokyo to hang out with some friends. That was… unexpected. It was weird. Nice but… weird. He had never expected getting into U.A. would lead to spending so much time with friends. Considering his childhood… it was going to take some time getting used to.

"Who is that honey?" His mom had been preparing to go to work and was standing behind the couch he was sitting on. He was never a big texter so he guessed he could understand why she was curious.

"The guy I met at the exam, Sero. I told you about him, right?"

"Of course you did. He is the boy that is going to be in class with you and Katsuki right?" She confirmed as she continued her preparations.

"He apparently met someone else who is going to be in our class, and invited me to hang out with them tomorrow near where they live in Tokyo." He pondered to himself about how that was going to be a pretty long train ride.

"Are you going?" Izuku couldn't but pause because he heard a tremble in his mom's voice.

"I mean, it isn't a problem with you, right Mom?" He hesitantly asked, finally getting up to see how his Mom was acting. His eyes widened as he saw her eyes glisten in preparation for crying. "What's wrong, Mom?" He darted around the couch to stand by her.

With no warning, tears erupted into the air from her eyes as she cried out. "My baby has such nice friends!"

Izuku understood that these were tears of joy. He just wasn't sure how to react to them. His default option was to offer a hug, which was quickly taken by his mom. He felt the front of his shirt grow very wet.

"It's just, I remember when so many people didn't give you a chance to show how wonderful you are and now you have Haimawari and Haneyama and the one friend you are training with and now this Sero and just… I'm so happy to see you with so many friends!" She explained through drenching his shirt.

Izuku felt his tears well up. It was great wasn't it? He was so used to only considering Kacchan as his friend, which wasn't saying much. But now he had everything going his way, and the friends to be with him while he got there. It was really great, wasn't it. He began patting his Mom's back. "Yeah, I know. I'm happy too." One or two tears dropped from his eyes, but nothing like his mother's. Eventually, she stopped crying and realized that she needed to get back to getting ready for her job. Not long after, she left Izuku alone to his thoughts. After changing his shirt, he began to tinker with his gear.

He was at his computer, and had five different tabs open on things that could help him try and make the adjustments he wanted to make. Sometimes, he wish he had an intelligence quirk that made doing stuff like this simpler, but it felt more rewarding that he had to work it out himself. His current project involved full arm bracers that could be worn underneath a normal long sleeve shirt. The trick was balancing comfort, strength, and overall protectiveness of the material. His current method was taking notes from medieval Western armor, mainly chainmail. Ideally it could be put on like a crop top and could even be extended to under a jumpsuit. He was dealing with the issues of weight and mobility in the traditional design, along with making it not-obvious it is being worn. His current method was a looser chainmail-like mesh made of a ballistic fiber like Kevlar that would be built into a comfortable undershirt. Right now he only had a small amount of material to try and create it with, so he was creating a wristband prototype that could be used to justify his investor giving him the funds to build a full product.

Again, this wasn't something wholly new. There were a few designs very similar on the market to what he was doing, but nothing that was designed for beneath clothing. One of the tabs open was an in depth review of one of those designs from a Brazilian superhero agency in fact. But this was his project, and he would do everything he could to make it the best product he could. He stayed late up into the night, meticulously weaving the fibers together to get the density he was aiming for.

Because of his late night, he was fairly tired getting on the train to Tokyo the next morning. They had agreed to meet before lunch, so Izuku had gotten a light breakfast and was nursing an energy drink he had purchased as he traveled to Tokyo. He didn't usually get to head to the big city, it had been years since he hand gone with his Mom, so even his exhaustion couldn't fully mute his hype.

Besides the obvious excitement of meeting with his friend and his future classmate (and hopefully friend), he would be able to see some heroes he had only seen in the news or in videos. While major heroes often bounced between big cities, smaller heroes often focused in on the city they were based from. One time, when they were texting, Izuku had mentioned Mt. Lady and Sero didn't have a clue about who she was. And Sero mentioned to him a hero named Stoneskin that Izuku hadn't been aware of, even though he'd been around for years! But he knew of other Tokyo based heroes like Missy D. Monkey or Cold Static that he just wanted to see in action.

Of course, since it was a long train ride, other thoughts came to mind. More depressing thoughts. Like how many people would remember these amazing heroes in the future. Superstars like All Might and Endeavor would have the names enshrined in history, but would people even know there was a hero named Stoneskin, or a giantess named Mt. Lady. Would people remember all the good they would do. Would they remember someone like him? He didn't do it for the fame, but he wanted to make a difference. He wanted to save people with a smile. Would he be doing that if they didn't remember him?

Izuku took a sip of his energy drink and shook the negative thoughts out of his head. His doubt had been his friend for far too long, it was time to focus on some other friends. Izuku killed time by looking into hero news on his phone, taking extra time to remember the name and faces of each obscure hero he saw. By the time the station Sero recommended he get of on came up, he had finished his energy drink and was as awake as he was going to be. As he left the train station, fiddling with his phone's map app to determine how to get to the agreed upon meeting spot, he was surprised to hear his name being called.

"Yo, Midoriya, glad to see you could make it!"

He turned to the voice and saw Sero standing there in casual garb, leaning against a lamppost with a grin on his face.

Izuku walked over smiling at him. "Hey Sero! Glad to see you are doing good. I didn't know you were gonna come to the station to meet me."

Sero got off the lamppost and shrugged. "I was in the area when you texted you were almost here. I figured I might as well. Wanna get going? I mentioned you to Honenuki and he seems interested in meeting you as well."

"Me too. Let's get going." Izuku honestly replied. With that the two of them began chatting as they went through the streets of Tokyo to meet up with Honenuki at the designated spot. Their talks mainly focused on Izuku discussing his attempts of armoring himself and Sero expressing interest in such an item. He ended up pointing out even something as simple as those prototype wristbands or forearm sleeves could be useful enough for individuals to use. Sero also couldn't help but point out if he had been unlucky enough to miss out on the heroics course, he probably could have thrived in the support course. Izuku nodded and agreed with him, but privately knew that would not be the case. After everything he had been through, it would have felt wrong to settle like that. There was no reason to tell that to anyone though, since it didn't matter.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the spot, the arcade where Sero and Honenuki had originally met. Izuku began looking around at the people outside of the building, curious as to which one was his future classmate, when he saw somebody start waving. Sero spoke up when that happened. "There he is. Let's go Midoriya."

Nodding in understanding, he followed Sero to the fellow teen while analyzing him. The most obvious thing about him was how his quirk had definitely affected his appearance. His skin was an odd tone of tan and his hair was an abnormal beige. The biggest uniqueness, however, was his face. His nose was flatter than normal and lacked a strong protrusion from his face. More obviously, he lacked lips and it seemed his teeth seemed to be on his skin and instead of his mouth. When he opened his mouth to speak, it seemed to confirm this as it appeared he had no teeth in it.

"Sero, good to see you again. And I assume this is the friend you told me about?" He acknowledged Izuku with a hand gesture towards him.

Izuku stepped up and held a hand out towards him. "Hey, Sero told me good things about you too. My name is Izuku Midoriya. It's good to meet you."

He looked to his hand, smiled, and shook it before looking Izuku in the eyes. "Same here. My name is Juzo Honenuki."

Sero put a hand on both of their shoulders. "Well guys, good to see you don't hate each other on first sight. We have a good hour or so before lunch, so let's go have some fun!" He nodded towards the arcade.

"Fine with me." Izuku didn't go to arcades often, so he was interested in visiting a Tokyo one.

"Yees. Tell me, Midoriya, do you like fighting games?" Honenuki asked as the three teenagers began to walk into the arcade together.

As it happened, Midoriya did enjoy fighting games. He was rather good at them. Good enough to demolish Sero every time they matched up. However, he was not quite as good as Honenuki. While he didn't get shut out, it had been made clear which of them was the superior. But it wasn't just fighting games they played, as they bounced between a few shooters and novelty games. They even had a try at the novelty pachinko machines, which ironically was where Izuku cleaned up the best. The machines gave random capsules, and in one of his victories Izuku received a miniature All Might keychain based off of his Silver Age costume. Izuku instantly attached it to his keychain and was still beaming as they left and made their way to the lunch destination, an odd place that tried to localize American cuisine. It helped make Izuku more daring, as he was trying the miso burger curry after all.

"I can't believe you are still smiling about getting that keychain." Honenuki mentioned as he got back from the drink bar, seeing the smile on Izuku's face. They had been getting along pretty well, and had gotten to known each other some. Nothing too specific, just generalities about their past and such like how Izuku worked for an idol or Honenuki was related to the hero Snatch (by way of his father being cousins with him).

"I am kind of a collector of a lot of All Might memorabilia. I didn't have anything like this, and not too much with his Silver Age costume, so I'm kind of excited about it. Sorry if it is kinda weird." Izuku apologized.

"Come on dude, it isn't that weird. You told me about how All Might was like your idol and inspiration. My sister is big into Arachne. She had her autograph and everything! If she thought she could be a hero, I bet she would say Arachne was her inspiration." Sero pointed out, with Izuku only vaguely aware of who he was talking about since she was a Tokyo-centric hero with a spider based quirk. He appreciated his friend not teasing him about it.

"Yeah, I bet you are real excited about All Might teaching at U.A. this year, huh?" Honenuki asked. "I was really shocked when I got my letter and he told me I had passed the exam!"

Sero nodded firmly in agreement. "I know right? It is so cool that the number one hero is going to be teaching us."

"Huh?"

Both of his lunch companions looked to see the completely befuddled face of Izuku looking back at them.

"What's wrong?" Honenuki asked.

"Did we say something weird?" Sero piped in.

"Did you just…" Izuku was honestly lost. "Did you just say All Might is going to be our teacher?"

Sero nodded. "Yeah. He said that when he told us we had been accepted into the hero course. That's what you got, right Honenuki?"

The other teen nodded. "Yeah, All Might telling us he would be teaching there and that I passed. Did you get something different, Midoriya."

Absently, he nodded. "Yeah. The principal, Nedzu. He told me… I passed."

The two of them looked at each other and back towards Izuku. "I guess, since you were taking the exam a second time and all, the principal wanted to give you the news?" Honenuki had been let on about Izuku's predicament and had thought it was intriguing but didn't comment further.

"Yeah. I guess." Izuku wasn't using much emotion in his voice. The two boys watched in sick fascination as Izuku began to twitch and tremble. "All Might… All Might is gonna be my sensei." They watched as a grin came across his face. A normal one at first, but it kept getting wider and wider until it became painful to look at. Just as they were about to say something, Izuku slumped over in his booth.

Izuku regained consciousness feeling incredibly embarrassed by his actions. He had passed out from the excitement of the news. It made him look like such a dork. He was still slumped over in his booth seat, so hesitantly he sat up and looked around. To his extreme thankfulness, he was not the center of attention. It seemed like people had ignored him fainting, which was a good sign. His food was here which told him he had probably been out for a good ten to fifteen minutes, which was embarrassing. As for the two people he was with, they looked relieved that he was up. Their food hadn't been eaten from, so he guessed that was a good sign. He also noticed that they were both wearing a guilty look on their faces. And in Sero's hand…

"Is that my phone?" He asked, trying to still gather his bearings.

They looked at the other, down to the phone, and away in obvious embarrassment. Sero reached across the table to hand the phone back to him. Izuku grabbed it, still very confused.

"So, what just happened?" He was going to be accusing of them...yet. They seemed like good guys. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this? They didn't just take his phone to look through it when he passed out, did they?

Honenuki spoke. "Uh, we only took it cause, we wanted to make sure you didn't have like, a medical condition or something. So we might have... called your mom." He admitted.

Izuku unlocked his phone, regretting he had chosen ease over security for it, and tried to verify their story. And, clear as day, was a text from his mother asking him to call her once he 'woke up' to tell her he was okay. He was happy there was a reasonable explanation. But it didn't explain why they looked like someone had caught them doing something bad. Until he saw he had a text message from Kazuho.

 _What's wrong, Greenhorn? Too good to talk to us?_

He looked into his past text messages with her and saw she had texted him a few minutes before.

 _Lookie here! Met with your girlfriend! ( )_

 _You didn't tell me you were getting physical with her!_

Attached to the first text was a selfie of Kazuho in normal garb and Yaoyorozu who seemed to be out for a jog. He looked back up at the duo with him as they failed to meet his eye.

"I'm guessing you guys saw the texts from Kazuho?" He asked them.

Sero nodded first. "Yeah, that's your boss right? I didn't mean to look into your personal stuff. It just popped up."

Honenuki chipped in. "Yeah, that is your personal business, right? What you do with your girlfriend is your business." As suddenly Izuku understood why they felt so embarrassed and was temporarily too stunned to react.

"Yeah, but like, good on you? I mean, your girlfriend is super pretty. You are really lucky dude." Sero added in.

He turned bright red and hid his face behind his hands. It took a minute, but he found the nerve to explain. "It isn't like that. Yaoyorozu is a friend. She, actually, she is going to be at U.A. too, in our class. We only met cause, well, she is a fan of Kazuho's and she ran into us on the street. We were just training, that is what getting physical meant." There was some stuttering in there, but eventually everything was explained by the embarrassed teen.

His two companions looked at each other before Sero spoke up. "So your boss is teasing you or something?" Izuku nodded behind his hands. Sero didn't say anything, and Izuku didn't look to see his reaction, but it felt like he had come to an understanding.

"You said she was going to U.A.?" Honenuki wanted clarified. Izuku nodded again, finally pulling his hands away from his face. The tan teen looked like he was trying to remember something for a few moments before it came to him. "I saw her during recommendations! I bet she was one of the ones that got in on them!" He deduced.

Izuku nodded. "Uh, yeah. Wait, you said you saw her during recommendations? So did you get in on recommendations as well?" He inquired.

Sero looked interested as well. "Really dude? You must be some kind of genius if you did." sero complimented him.

He shrugged. "I mean, technically I was offered it. Like, how it worked was like 8 or 9 of us had the opportunity and they gave it to 4 of us. I wasn't a part of the initial 4, but apparently one of them decided to go to a different school so I was the next one offered. But I had already decided to take the entrance exam and prove my worth, so the next person got it. I think it was some guy who had a quirk that let him merge with anything black but I'm not certain."

Izuku and Sero both thought the information was interesting but it didn't make a major difference. Izuku decided to quickly call his mom and explain the situation to her, which she was relieved to hear it was about good news and not something bad. He followed it up with a text to Kazuho telling her he was busy and to try harassing him later. He ignored her follow up texts and began eating his meal which was still warm enough. Honenuki and Sero had begun eating while he had been doing damage control.

The conversation delved into talks about their respective performances in the entrance exam and how they succeeded. Honenuki's quirk was absurdly powerful and let him go through the robots like butter. He had ended up tied for 4th with 65 points in all, with 55 villain points and 10 rescue points. Apparently, he had the second most villain points overall, only behind someone who had 77 villain points. While Izuku knew whom that was, Sero could guess.

"I bet that was Bakugou-sir." He winced when he realized what he had done on instinct and how lame it sounded.

"Bakugou...sir?" Honenuki was obviously a bit confused.

Izuku explained. "Yeah, he is talking about my childhood friend who took the exam. He is really powerful and I know already that is him since he had 77 points. His mom told my mom."

"Yeah, Midoriya calls him Kacchan but if you try to do that I'm pretty sure he would end you if he could." Sero added on.

Honenuki could only nod. "Good to know. Do you know what class he is going to be in?"

Sero shook his head, but Izuku nodded. "Yeah, he is going to be in our class." He ignored the soft whelp of 'oh no' from Sero and continued. "Thinking about it, we already know a fourth of the class. Us three, Yaoyorozu and Kacchan. That sounds pretty good." He felt the look by Sero and knew why he did it, so he was compelled to explain. "While Kacchan isn't the easiest person to get along with, he is reliable and won't screw things up for others." Sero didn't look like he believed him, and Honenuki wasn't sure what to say.

They finished up their lunch and continued their day on the town, which was a pretty fun experience for the trio. The highlight was of course the incident where a villain tried to rob a nearby store. All three of the boys had to stop each other from getting involved, especially when a hero came onto the scene. To Izuku's delight, it was one of the heroes he had been hoping to see, Missy D. Monkey. She was a hero who based her name and costume on a classic pirate manga since she shared her quirk powers with the manga's protagonist. She punched and stomped her opponent into opposition, and gained cheers by the crowd. She didn't stay around to get autographs, leaving with the police to write up the paperwork, but she did leave an impression on the trio of future U.A. students. A reminder of what they were going to become, starting in a few short days.

With the day finished, Izuku got Honenuki's contact number and left to go back home. Going through his phone, he couldn't help but notice how much his contact list was filling up with friends. Things had changed a lot.

The new few days were a blur. Suddenly it was the morning of orientation and for the first time in a year, Izuku was wearing a proper school uniform. This time, he wasn't surprised in the least that his mother was seeing him off. It was a big day, and even if she was tired there was no way she would miss this for the world.

"Have you got your pocket tissues?" She asked as he was making sure his shoes were tied tight.

"Of course." He told her.

"And your handkerchief?" She followed up. "You have your handkerchief right?"

Izuku took a glance at his phone and grimaced at the time. He would have to hustle to catch the train so he wouldn't be late. "Of course." He double checked his pockets and made sure everything was there. He went to leave for the door but his mother's voice stopped.

"Izuku?"

He couldn't help but grimace, he didn't have the time for his mother's worrying about him. "Yeah?"

He stopped when he saw her face. She was wearing a smile but had tears threatening to burst. "You look great. The uniform suits you."

His eyes began to tear up, but he didn't want to go to school with it being obvious he was crying. "See you later." He smiled back at his mom and rushed out the door, drying the corner of his eyes with his sleeves.

It was the first time he had to properly catch the train to U.A., not having the benefit of Kazuho's and her driving, but he made it with good time. Especially since he got lost. He ran into a second year who was kind enough to point him in the right direction, so he rushed to his classroom without attracting the attention of any rules sticklers. He did not want to be late and raise the ire of Aizawa on his first day. As he ran into the classroom, he realized that while he was the last to arrive, he was still on time. But more importantly, an interesting dilemma was occuring in front of him.

"Look hornface, you don't tell me shit."

"Mr. Delinquent Boy, please don't be a butt head and get your feet off the desk. I want to sit there please."

Of course Kacchan was half of the equation. Of course he was. The other half was a girl with an accent to her Japanese that hinted she was foreign. She had horns on her head and long blonde hair and looked very irritated. It was only fitting Kacchan showed everyone his bluntness from Day One.

"I ain't a delinquent. There is one other seat, go there!"

"But no lip boy is scary!"

He looked to other empty desk and saw it was flanked by his three friends. Yaoyorozu, looking offended by the activities of his childhood friend, was behind the empty desk. To the left of it was Honenuki, who was only slightly offended by the comment of the girl. And in front of him was Sero, who noticed Izuku entering the room and give him a wave. He nodded in acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the arguing duo.

"Yeah, well little girly, I'm scarier if you don't listen to me!"

The girl stared him down. "You remind me of chihuahua. All bark, no bite." This got a snicker from a few classmates and forced Bakugou to grind his teeth. Izuku checked the clock and knew Aizawa was due any minute. Sighing, he knew he had to get involved.

"Kacchan, please let her sit there. Or would you rather have me sitting there in front of you?"

The boy finally noticed his presence and grimaced.

"Fucking Deku, you got in this class too?"

Ignoring the insult, Izuku decided to follow up. "Yes I did Kacchan. And I know you don't want me sitting next to you, so please let the girl in her seat. The teacher will be here shortly, and I don't think it would be smart to make him angry."

Yaoyorozu decided to say something from his seat. "I agree with Midoriya. Bakugou, please let our classmate sit down." Izuku could not help but feel so thankful that he had told his friend about him and how he should not call him Kacchan like he did.

Seeing it was a losing battle, Bakugou relented and took his feet off the chair. He did not look pleased doing so. Izuku decided it was time to take his seat and moved towards the other open chair when the girl turned to him with a smile.

"Thank you, fucking Deku!"

Bakugou snickered, and a few other people were amused by the obviously foreign girl say things she didn't fully comprehend yet. Izuku did his best to ignore the absurdity and nodded in acknowledgement. As they both sat down, only a few seconds passed as the door shot open. A man in a sleeping bag suddenly hopped into frame and looked over the whole class. He then sucked some sort of fruit pouch he was hiding in his sleeping bag. Only one person knew what was going on, and he couldn't help but not be surprised. He had heard stories from Midnight after all.

"It's good to see you are all ready for action. Maybe you do have potential. Get up, get into your gym uniforms, and meet me outside."

And with that short introductions, he glided out of the room. Almost everyone had a confused look on their faces. Finally, a boy with blonde hair and a black thunderbolt turned to everyone in class. "Is that the teacher?"

An invisible girl spoke up. "I don't think so."

Izuku sighed and got up. "No, this is our teacher. He is being entirely serious."

A few people were confused with how confidently he said that. "And you know that how?"

Izuku was already leaving the room. "You don't want to leave him waiting. He expelled his entire class last year." He wasn't sure if he should have told them that information, but he figured it was fair to give them fair warning. It was mainly for his friends, but everybody deserved the chance. He left the room and was incredibly thankful that he had run into the locker rooms on the way there.

His friends were the first to leave, understanding that Midoriya was not kidding. Bakugou, well aware of how serious his childhood friend was, followed them out the door. And everyone else, in an absolute panic, rushed to follow them.

…

So, I finally did it. I finally wrote this new chapter. I have been trying for months, and I finally did it. I just had to abandoned all my work that kept giving me writer's block. It took me a while to figure out where I wanted to end this chapter. But all's well that ends well!

Side note, there is two changes in the story from canon I want to address (one of which is a change I am adjusting.)

The first is about Honenuki being a recommendation student. I wanted to keep his character, but had to figure out a way to balance it with everything else. So I came up with what I did, and I hope people enjoy it.

The second is I am changing one of the people I taking out of Class 1-A. Also for balancing purposes I am now keeping Ojiro in class 1-A. Iida, however, is leaving to class 1-B. I think not having Iida and having Ojiro could create more interesting and unique opportunities for this story in the future.

I hope you enjoy this update, and I'm pretty sure I can promise the next update will be sooner than five months.


	5. He Had Secrets

Izuku was thankful nobody brought up the scar as he was getting changed, though he noticed Honehuki giving it a glance along with a very distinct white and red haired boy with massive scar tissue over his left eye. He had a familiar air about him, but wasn't certain about anything. He was the first out, encouraging everyone to hurry up (and ignoring Bakugou's yell of him to 'SHUT THE FUCK UP').

Yaoyorozu was the first to accompany him, followed by Bakugou, followed by a large group including his newer friends. A short boy with purple hair and the invisible girl were the last to the scene.

Their instructor was out of his sleeping bag, and in familiar black and gray garb to Izuku. And if one was imperceptive, you'd think he was giving the air of someone lazy and too good for this. But most of the students felt the sharpness in the air around him. He was a teacher at U.A. Of course he wasn't a schmuck.

"I can't say I'm impressed by your time to get here as a whole. You are supposed to be the best of the best. But I suppose I am putting the cart before the horse. Does anyone have a guess as to what we are doing here?"

A girl with phone jacks for earlobes looked around and spoke up. "Well, sensei, I guess we are skipping the orientation or whatever. Is that okay?" A few voices in the crowd muttered aloud in agreement.

"Indeed Miss Kyoka Jirou. If you are lucky, you will see that U.A. allows it teachers much flexibility in how they teach their classes as long as they pass their finals and show results." Aizawa explained coolly.

"If we are lucky?" She asked barely loud enough for those around to hear, as if confirming what she heard. The short boy looked at Izuku and had a moment of clarity of what that could mean. With an expression of fear, he turned back towards the teacher.

"Wait, was he telling the truth then? That you expelled your entire class last year." He pointed to Izuku, who became the center of attention.

Aizawa gave him a look. He didn't like the look, especially since he wasn't sure what it meant. "Midoriya, do you intend to reveal all my secrets to the class? This is not a game you want to start." He ominously commented.

Izuku gulped instinctively. "Uh, well, the class seemed to be confused by your entrance into the classroom. I just said it so they would know to take you as seriously as they take their futures." Obvious pandering, but he was speaking to everyone with that line.

Aizawa paused for a moment and Izuku thought he was going to crack an amused smile, but instead saw his sensei's eyes refocus to the class. "What we are doing today is an extension to the physical fitness tests you took in middle school. Eijiro Kirishima, please step forward to me." As Aizawa pulled a softball out of seemingly nowhere.

Kirishima was instantly distinct, with shark teeth and spiky red hair. Izuku would have never known of the importance of him being chosen if it weren't for Bakugou and Honehuki both muttering aloud, one angrily and one interested, 'Number One.' So this was the guy who scored number one on the Entrance exam. He couldn't help but be interested.

The red head was obviously confused, as he asked Aizawa, "Yes, sensei?"

"Tell me, what was your record in the softball toss in middle school?" He asks as he casually tosses the ball to him.

He almost fumbles it, but gets a handle on it. He still looks confused. "Um, it was like 61.5 meters or something."

"An unremarkable number for sure, and for good reason. The department of education for some reasons sees fit to not challenge you with seeing the limits of your quirks, forcing everyone to compete on a field they deem equal. I find this ridiculous. Some people have mutant quirks that make them exceptional no matter what they do, and everyone deserves to understand their limits. That is why, this time, Mr. Kirishima, I want you to use your quirk during the softball throw."

"Use my quirk, sir?" Kirishima asked to confirm, already thinking. Behind him, Deku heard whispers of people excited at the prospect.

"Did I mumble, Mr. Kirishima?" Aizawa asked with an air of annoyance in his voice.

Kirishima shook his head as he began to walk towards the circle. "No, no sir." All eyes followed him as he set his feet in the circle and turned around. "It's just… my quirk doesn't really help me with this."

"Then make your throw and get back into the group. The softball contains an indestructible chip that will record your throws distance." His voice was still annoyed.

Izuku saw in Kirishima's eyes that he didn't like Aizawa's tone. It was dismissive, as if the effort he had put through to get number one meant nothing.

Kirishima readied himself, getting ready to chuck the ball. And hesitated. Hesitated some more. Izuku's and everyone's eyes shot to Aizawa as they felt negative energy radiating off him, displeased by what he was seeing. They all saw his mouth open and-

"Explain the rules again. Please. I just want to make sure I'm not missing something." Kirishima's voice cut into the tension. Aizawa stopped whatever he was going to say, and glared at the red head.

"Throw the ball, and the distance from the circle where it touches the ground marks your softball throw. It isn't hard." Aizawa explained.

"Huh." Izuku heard a voice from over his shoulder. "That is an oddly specific interpretation of the rules." He knew that voice to be Yaoyorozu's.

"It's deliberate." Izuku quickly responded. "It has to be with Eraserhead." He thoughtlessly used the teacher's hero name.

"Deliberate?" A boy with a french accent cut in. "It is my opportunity to shine." He had a grin, like he had cracked a secret.

The same one Kirishima was wearing.

"Alright then sensei. Here I go." Kirishima took a moment to stretch his shoulder out before… throwing the ball in the air. A cacophony of confused noises was followed by Kirishima rapidly swinging his arm around him and it visibly changing to a denser, sturdier appearing material. His arm quickly met the falling softball.

CRACK!

The ball went soaring in the air and a fair distance away landed and bounced.

There was a pause before the other blonde boy cheered, "Home Run!" It broke the tension and relieved some of the pressure in the air. Some of the class began cheering for Kirishima, while others (like Bakugou) didn't appear to be impressed.

Aizawa had pulled out a phone that was displaying a number in meters. 138.8 "Next time I expect you to catch on quicker, Mr. Kirishima. Though perhaps I should blame an education system that has stifled your comprehension thinking." He then turned his attention to the class as a whole. "As you can see with this demonstration, I am going to have everyone perform eight types of physical fitness tests with your quirks being able to be used. They will range from the ball throw to the 50 meter dash to sit ups. Your performances in these tests will be compared to one another and ranked based off of a system I developed in order to do so."

"Sensei, may I go next in the ball throw then?" One of the hulking figures in the class asked, a familiar looking guy with large lips. His huge frame made It seem like this type of test he would excel at.

Instead, Aizawa pulled out a small batch of papers hidden in the bundles of his scarf. "No, Mr. Shoji, the continuation of the ball throw will be later in the program. I just felt it was most suited for the demonstration needed to explain the optics of these activities. I already have an order for all of the tests, starting with the 50m dash, located right behind you all. I would like Shoto Todoroki and Yuga Aoyama to take their places at the start of the lanes."

Most of the class was surprised by how quickly they were jumping into things, but the two called out individuals made their way from the group towards the lanes. Izuku quickly realized Aoyama was the flamboyant blonde, because the name Todoroki was no secret to an hero otaku like himself. And with that half of red hair, Todoroki had a strong presence. A very aloof one, but still a presence. Izuku couldn't help but be curious about the younger Todoroki, having had a… unique set of encounters with the elder. Most of which involved either a trash can or running. It was a long story.

"I wonder how he will incorporate his quirk?" He heard Yaoyorozu mutter aloud, gaining his attention.

"Whom?" He asked.

"I was speaking of Todoroki. He took the recommendation exam along with me, and I saw the might of his ice. I'm curious if he will use the energy to propel himself, or to skate along the track."

"Ice? Not fire?" That was surprising.

"Indeed, though he did show the ability to summon flames in the aftermath to undo the ice. It seemed there was a tension with his father. Given the reputation of Endeavor as strict and demanding, one can assume why." She was quieter as she spoke, making sure only Izuku heard her. It was sensitive information, borderline scandalous, and he was the only one she knew. However, the closeness of her over his shoulder did not go unnoticed.

"Green haired nobody. Why is the prettiest girl all on him?" The short purple haired boy commented aloud. No one was really paying attention.

"First fucking smart thing I've heard all day." A familiar growl was heard. Almost no one. Izuku had to ignore the glances of Sero that were knowing. Fortunately, no one else jumped in to make it worse as the duo stood ready to run. Well, if you didn't count Aoyama looking the other way. For the first time, Izuku really noticed the belt he was wearing. Was it part of his quirk?

"I will show everyone here my sparkle!"

"Let's get this over with."

"Indeed. Robot, please begin the race." The robot at the end of the track seemed to note Aizawa's command and begin speaking. As it counted down, Aoyama bent his knees while Todoroki placed his right behind him. At 'Go!' the two shot forth. Aoyama sent a giant laser beam from the belt propelling him backwards, outpacing Todoroki who was running while gaining momentum from shooting off giant icicle's to push himself forward. Until he fell on the ground, his laser beam coming to a stop. Todoroki flew by as Aoyama stood back up, jumped in the air, and shot again.

"4.12 seconds!" "5.51 seconds!" The robot exclaimed as the two participants passed the end line. This time, Aoyama caught his feet and stayed standing. Then with a dramatic turn to the group. "Alas, I might have lost, but you all saw my sparkle, didn't you?"

"I saw you fall on your butt." The blonde foreign girl bluntly admitted, gaining a few chuckles from the crowd.

"So is this a laughing matter to you all?" Aizawa's voice pierced the air as everyone shut up instantly. Izuku wanted to speak but wasn't sure what to say.

"Bimbo made some of the extra's laugh. Who fucking cares?" Bakugou said what was on his mind. He also apparently had a nickname for the foreign student that was pretty rude.

"I care, Mr. Bakugou. I care because I want people who care about the opportunity they are being given." Aizawa turned his attention to the whole class. "If for one second, I do not think you are putting your full effort into one of these tests, you will score a 0. You do not want to see what happens if you score a 0. Do you understand me?" The crowd of students nodded quickly, as most of them were worried about the prospect.

The rest of the 50m dash flew by as everyone became hyper focused on having the best score. Izuku could only curse at himself, wishing he had brought his boosted shoes with him. Because of technicalities of having everything 'safety tested' all of his gear was in the U.A. support system, so he was fully and truly limited to his own physical abilities. And had this been two years before, before his time patrolling the streets, he would have been in decent trouble. But between his time 'on the job' so to say, and the effort he put in after last year's failure, he thought he could do well for himself. His 6.44s time was far from the best in the class, but he had gone full out and finished 13th.

The next test everyone took was a grip strength test, which Izuku felt disappointed in finishing under 60kg, at 59.5. While he wasn't near the bottom, he was nowhere near the top. The teen he recognized from the exam as having selfishly helping him to safety finished with a score of 460 kg, with another boy with some sort of beast quirk named Jurota Shishida finishing at 444.2kg. He was becoming more and more worried of Aizawa giving him a 0, as he was hoping he understand he did not have his inventions. The lackluster showing in the standing long jump which saw half the class clearing the box did nothing to help manners. As soon as he heard that the next test was repeated side steps, inspiration struck.

"Yaoyorozu, would it be a bother to ask for you to create a 2 inch sharp blade for me?" He asked out of nowhere as Todoroki and Aoyama was set to start at the side step station.

Without a thought, she summoned it. While Izuku had been aware of her quirk, (and if he hadn't her performance during this exam would have made it abundantly clear), it was the first time he asked her to use it. "I don't mean to pry, but what are you trying to do?"

Grabbing it from her, he began to take off his shoes, allowing his socks to stain with the dirt of the testing ground. He began to slowly cut off the bottom of his shoes while talking. "I had to give U.A. my current shoes which had the kinetic technology I use for testing, but these old shoes should still have…" The sole plus a rubber filling removed, scraps of technology and wires and springs were plain to see., " the prototype tech! I took some of it out, but I think I have enough here to craft basic springing mechanisms to help me with this test." Without really thinking of how it looked to everyone else, he plopped himself on the ground. "Could I also have a small tube of superglue, if you know the composition? And if it isn't taxing to your lipid storage?"

"I see, I was wondering why you hadn't used anything earlier. It would make sense that the school would want to verify the safety of them." Yaoyorozu processed as a small tube of superglue was placed on his knee for his use. Using the blade, he began to remove the components necessary for the adjustment.

"What in the world are you doing my dude?" The pink skinned girl was hovering and looking in on him sitting on the ground. She was not alone, as a few others couldn't help but be curious.

"Your shoes remind me of a steampunk wasteland. What are you brewing?" The raven headed boy asked, peaking as well on his actions.

Izuku was working furiously to get his plan into motion before his turn. "If I can properly balance the spring mechanisms, I can reduce the muscle strain on the side steps and allow me to last longer."

"Is that even allowed?" One of the voices in the crowd that he didn't see piped up.

The voice indirectly led to the gathering getting the attention of Aizawa, who saw through the mass of legs Izuku sitting on the ground. "Midoriya, what are you doing on the ground like that? Don't tell me you are tired!"

"He's fixing his shoes!" Sero chimed in, with a neutral comment that hopefully wouldn't draw the ire of the teacher. Even he wasn't sure if this was allowed.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow and wandered closer to the group and got a better view of what Izuku was doing. "I thought you gave your tech to the school for clearance?"

Izuku, not bothering to look up because he knew time was of the essence, answered. "I did Eraserhead-sensei. This is the old prototype for my shoe design. I refitted them for everyday use but I left in a bunch of things for weight balancing purposes. I figured it would be okay if I reconfigured them to help me with my tests."

Aizawa groaned as his student called him by his hero name absentmindedly, which sparked triggers of recognition by a few of the students.

"Eraserhead!"

"Wait, I think I heard of him."

"Eraserhead? The quirk canceling hero?" The boy with the large tail asked aloud. He continued his thought process by looking back towards Izuku. "How did you know which hero our sensei was? Eraserhead is an underground hero and his identity isn't obvious." He looked back towards the sensei.

"Sorry Aizawa-sensei! Slip of the tongue!" Izuku was rushing through the work on the first shoe and trying to get to the second.

The disgruntled look on the outed heroes face would have given Izuku pause to his thoughtlessness, but his attention was focused elsewhere. "Well Mr. Ojiro," Aizawa began to explain, "after Midoriya failed the entrance exam last year, he associated himself with a group of vigilantes I have had the matter of interacting with for years now."

Izuku ignored the chill that ran down his spine as Aizawa outed most of the things he had expected to tell his classmates overtime and ignored Bakugou cackling at the situation. His impulse to correct him because, technically, he had joined them before he attempted the exam was also completely curled even more so into a ball as he worked on the shoe, pressing down the base he was using to help the springs stay in place. As soon as this set, he was done working on it.

"Dude, you were a vigilante? How do you not tell a guy that! I saw she worked as one, but I thought you were just her music manager!" Sero asked, confusion in his voice.

"They let a vigilante into the course? That seems irresponsible." The girl with the frog quirk bluntly assessed.

"They let people repeat the exam? And your a first year, did you really wait it out?" Izuku could assume the invisible girl asked the question as he focused on refilling the shoe with some of the rubber filling and resetting the sole. Instead all he gave was a nervous chuckle.

"No but seriously, if he was a vigilante why is he allowed in the school? Shouldn't he have a criminal record or something?" The girl with earphone jacks for earlobes, Jirou, asked their sensei seriously.

Yaoyorozu finally came to his defense. "Midoriya never used any quirk during these activities and is thus exempt from many of the laws that prohibit vigilantism. Good Samaritan laws also are strong enough to protect him in most cases. Legally he is in a gray area, but that doesn't mean he should be barred from professional licensing!" She checkmarked most of the things that legally protected him in the last year and a half.

"Okay, but how would you know all of that! Are you a vigilante aficionado?" Jirou counter-questioned.

Yaoyorozu shook her head. "No, I do agree that it is a ill-informed path to take in life and should not be supported. I do, however, support the idol Pop Step and her career. Since he was a sidekick of hers and the Crawler, it is not a surprise I would not be aware of his part in this misdeeds."

"Pop Step! You like the bubblegum techno trash?" Jirou was aghast by Yaoyorozu's music preference. Judging by her aesthetic, it wasn't a surprising feeling from her. She seemed more into punk and other forms of rock.

"I bet you haven't even listened to a full song of hers! Don't judge the music based on your bias!" Things were beginning to get catty, and Izuku was tempted to step in.

Instead, Honenuki did on his behalf. "Music preferences aside, it seems obvious to me the school is fine with his past deeds if they admitted him. If you don't wish to befriend Midoriya because of them that is your prerogative, but I honestly feel like we have more important things to worry about."

"It is good to hear someone with sense speak up on the matter. Next time if you want to go on an inventing kick Midoriya, pass it through me. I will allow it this time since it is a result of your abilities, but do not expect this grace in the future. Now, I believe I need the next two to begin their sidestepping. Katsuki Bakugou and Pony Tsunotori, get to your stations. Everyone, get focused." Aizawa quipped.

The group around him began to disperse as they refocused their energies. The frog girl lingered, still looking over Izuku's shoulder. "Ribbit. Did you really fail the test last year?"

Izuku was busy removing the rubber packing, so he felt like he could divert his attention. "Uh yeah. I was totally unprepared and did terrible. But uh, yeah. I decided I should give it another shot. It didn't help I didn't apply anywhere else last time." He confessed.

"Hm, interesting." The girl seemed to ponder for a moment before walking away. The only person left crowding him was Sero, as Yaoyorozu seemed to be continuing the discussion about music with Jirou in a less heated manner.

Sero didn't say anything, but just watched as Izuku tinkered. Izuku knew he was curious but was trying to be respectful. As he was prying out spring components, he spoke to his tape quirked friend. "It kind of just sprang up, you know? I was actually more interested in meeting Captain Celebrity who used to be the number one hero in America when I met Kazuho who is a friend of his and was working on a movie set with him. I became friends with her and her boyfriend, and I found out what they did and couldn't help but be interested. I wanted to help people, and they were helping people. I understand why it is usually against the rules, which is why I didn't really bring it up, but I figured mentioning who I was working with would have been a big enough clue."

He had to wait a few moments for Sero to respond, but he did. "It's no biggie. It isn't like we have known each other for years or something. I still have stuff about me I haven't told you about. Did I mention I have two half-sisters? They are like, ten years older than me but yeah, I'm not an only child." Izuku shook his head, as Sero had not mentioned that. "Yeah, and I bet you still have something up your sleeve in regards to secrets." Izuku had to suppress a chuckle there, considering how right Sero was. "But seriously though, that is kind of cool. You have probably the most experience of any of us with this stuff. I bet you are going to do great."

"If I don't get a bunch of zero's because I don't meet Aizawa-sensei's expectation and get expelled, of course." Midoriya morbidly pointed out.

"True. I guess that means I should really let you get back to that huh?" Izuku simply nodded as he was getting to the difficult bits. "Alright, you better blow me out of the water then in this event!"

Izuku completed his shoe adjustments with time to spare, and was happy to thrive in side-stepping event. He even finished in the top 5! Know he just had to figure out how to use his know-how to improve his scores in the other events. Lovely.

Of course, he could do very little to boost his ball throw. The most he could think of was jumping while he threw, and it got him a distance of 67 meters (which he happened to know was Bakugou's record in school.) The technology he had on hand was far too inefficient to be useful for throwing things. Plus, after the invisible girl Tooru 'borrowed' the cannon Yaoyorozu summoned to use for her ball throw with a compelling argument how it was tactically legitimate, Yaoyorozu was banned from creating things for anyone else. (Though Midoriya swore he saw Aizawa grinning as he gave the invisible girl the score she earned, though he wasn't sure if it was 402 meters the ball traveled or a 0.)

However, the second Aizawa told the class the next step was a 2 kilometer run and to set up, he began adjusting the springs to be centrally located in the shoe instead of aimed for the sides. It nearly cost him 30 seconds of run time as Aizawa did not wait for him, but the spring in his step and months of running away from the scene of the crime made his time respectable coming in under 8 minutes and finishing in the top 10. He passed a few people in the last moments to secure his position, and almost immediately began working on adjusting his shoes. The people watching him immediately noticed the bottoms of his white socks were stained slightly red, which they definitely had not been before the race.

"Oi Deku, what the fuck happened to your feet?" Bakugou showed what could be construed as empathy for his plight.

"Oh my, your feet are bleedy." The foreign girl pointed out in almost accurate Japanese.

"Hey, I'm bleeding too!" The short purple boy yelled from the track, blood slowly coming from his head as he ran down the home stretch, behind him a minefield of balls he had bounced off of and everyone made note to avoid after Tokoyami attempted to see if the bounciness would help him run quicker… and promptly had to run 1.5 km without a shoe. Everyone swore they heard snickering coming from somewhere around him, but no one could place where it was coming from.

"I'm guessing your shoes spring design backfired?" Honehuki asked, concern on his face.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, I was putting too much pressure on the center of my feet and the spring base kept pressing into my feet. I ignored the pain as long as I could but… I don't know what else we are going to do but I'm not going to have springs for it. If I had more time or materials I could fix the issue, but it is what it is."

"The logistical limitations of an intelligence quirk must be annoying, isn't it?" Honehuki asked sincerely.

Before Izuku could respond, Bakugou cut in. "Intelligence quirk? Deku has always been this stupidly fucking clever with his bullshit, even when we were kids. Deku doesn't have a quirk in the first place."

Everything sort of changed in the air when Bakugou said that. It wasn't subtle at all, as everyone had to take a minute to comprehend what he said. Izuku shot a look of 'WTF?' towards Bakugou, since he had been planning on being lowkey and Bakugou usually didn't point out his quirklessness. He could also see Aizawa out of the corner of his eye deliberately ignoring the situation.

"I passed the exam. It doesn't matter if I have a quirk or not. I'm going to be a hero like everyone else here." Izuku took initiative in the situation. He knew he had too. Everyone else had been shocked silent, it was the only chance he had to do so.

It would be a lot more convincing if he was looking at everyone. Or if his voice hadn't cracked on the word 'matter'. Or he stuttered on 'everyone'. He was busy fumbling around with his shoe, doing terribly in opening it while people had their eyes on him.

The first to speak up was the beast quirk boy, Shishida. "Isn't that a bit reckless? It is immediately clear you could be a sidekick with your base intellect, but you seem the sort to be aware of the perils of heroism." Izuku had to admit he had judged the boy a bit too harshly, discounting his possible intellect.

"I mean, it seems like you have to rely on equipment to have any success. Wouldn't it be better for a quirked hero to use it?" Ojiro pointed out bluntly. Izuku ignored the muttering of Bakugou, which sounded alot like, "Obviously."

Izuku refocused on his shoe. This wasn't the first time he had been questioned. "Every hero has a limitation. You can't put Endeavor in water, or Death Arms in the air, or expect much from Ingenium in short, narrow hallways. That is why we have so many of them in the first place. I don't see why I can't be one of them. And I know the things I build better than anyone and what I can do with them. Maybe I can't be All Might, but I can still help people."

"So manly. You are so freaking cool, Midoriya!" Izuku gave a glance to who said that, and saw it was the guy who got number one on the practicals, Kirishima. He had was showing off his dangerous teeth with his smile. "I could totally see you as a hero with that kind of attitude! Who cares if you don't have a quirk!"

"So this guy is a year older than us, a vigilante, and quirkless. Why did people think it was a good idea to put him in our class?" Jirou asked aloud. Again, Bakugou seemed to vocalize agreement.

"Because he earned his way here, just like everyone else." Yaoyorozu quickly responded with. She was smiling at him, which forced him to smile back at her. He was happy to see she didn't turn on him for holding that back from her.

"I mean, I totally get it," Ashido cut in, gaining the attention of the group. "When you said you know about your gadget stuff better than anyone. I remember, after the exam, I found a girl I accidentally burned the shirt off of and saw she was wearing your shirt. At least, it must have been you. You gave her your shirt because hers was acid soup, and then turned some sort of fire extinguisher foam into a grenade! She said it was really cool. And if you can do that, why should we doubt you until you prove otherwise?"

"The manliest!"

"Ribbit, it doesn't really matter what we think, now does it? The school will either keep him or kick him out if he doesn't live up to the standards of being a hero. Personally I think it will be too hard, but that is likely because I never thought someone quirkless could become a hero." Tsuyu had her say.

"Dude, any more secrets?" Sero jokingly asked.

"They can be saved for next time, Mr. Sero. You can all stop playing 20 questions with Midoriya here and follow me to the next station for the seated toe-touch." Aizawa cut the conversation short and had everyone following him, with Izuku at the rear as he awkwardly tried to put together his shoes. After all the abuse, he would probably have to retire them after today. Next to him, to his surprise, was Yaoyorozu.

"You know, I sort of figured you were Quirkless." She told him, looking him in the eye.

"Really?" He shouldn't have been surprised, she was smart enough to see it.

"Yeah, even if it would have gotten you in trouble, you would have used it in an instant to save one of your friends or a civilian. You are too good of a person to let the rules get in your way if someone was in jeopardy."

He nervously laughed. "Yeah, you are probably right."

"Well, as long as Aizawa-sensei doesn't expel you for some reason, you will prove to everyone you belong here. I can't wait to see that." She smiled again at him.

He nearly tripped up, she was way too cute when she did that. Plus she believed in him! She was a jackpot of a friend. "Yeah, me neither."

She let out a sigh, and shook herself off of something (probably nerves). "Let's rock this last two tests. You know, if you hadn't said anything, I would have sworn sensei was lying about expelling people. It seems ridiculous to do that to brand new students, but I guess he only wants the best. So let's give him what he wants."

Izuku nodded in agreement. He was going to give their sensei the best he had for the rest of the exam. Which, it turns out, was hard when your feet have giant cuts in them. His seated toe-touch was torture and among the worst in the class, and he ended up bowing out of the sit-ups early by his standards (but in the top 7 anyway) because of the discomfort of his feet. He was praying neither score turned into a 0, but he never knew with Eraserhead.

Finally, after Shoto Todoroki finally finished his sit ups, Aizawa began fiddling with a computer. After a few tense moments of that, a holographic screen appeared with the title of **TEST RESULTS** with the even more menacing sidebar title of **# of '0' scores.**

"So, what everyone wants to see. Here is your rankings and number of 0 scores. I'm going to give you a minute to process it, then we will discuss." And with a single button press, the list came up.

Izuku immediately scanned the list for the names of people he knew and himself. Yaoyorozu got number one, much to her obvious delight, while Kacchan got third, to his obvious displeasure. Honenuki finished in 4th, and Sero managed to secure 14th. Which was just a hair ahead with him at 15th. Beneath them were the group of Aoyama, Kaminari, Jirou, Mineta, and Tooru. He was kind of surprised to see his name so high considering he had a 1 underneath the title of those with 0 scores, along with Tokoyami (who finished 10th), Kaminari and Tooru. He had an idea of which test got him a 0, but only had the faintest clue as to why the other 3 grabbed a 0.

"Now, first off, congratulations to Yaoyorozu and Todoroki who have demonstrated that perhaps they did deserve their recommendations. A few others exceeded my expectations, which is good for your sakes. First, I want to say I am slightly disappointed in your scores, number one. You finished in sixth, and might have fallen to seventh if Tokoyami hadn't sabotaged his own scores. What do you have to say about that?"

Kirishima flinched, obviously having been fine with his score and not expecting to be called out. Kirishima searched the ground in an attempt to figure out what to say. His face went stone as he looked back up. "I didn't come here to be the most physically fit. I came here to be the best hero I can become. I came here to become the best man I can be. You can be disappointed in me here, but I will more than prove to exceed your expectations once we get to why we are, sensei."

Everyone in the class was stunned by that response, including Kirishima. He had just called out his sensei on why this didn't matter. Aizawa's eyes narrowed. "It seems you know why you are here. Good. Principal Nedzu wouldn't like it if I expelled you on the first day, among others in the faculty. Now, to those with 0's, can you explain yourselves?"

Izuku spoke up first. "I took myself out of the game by ignoring my health for a higher score. I can't help anyone if I can't walk. I don't know if you docked me for the run, the toe touch, or the sit ups, but I probably deserved a 0 for all three. I already have enough setbacks. I don't need to make myself new ones."

"As the oldest, of course you are aware of what you did wrong. Even if you do graduate from U.A., everyone will doubt you just because of what you lack. Don't give them anything. Next?"

Kaminari, hesitantly, spoke. "Um, sensei, if I'm honest… I don't know why I have a 0. I'm guessing that means I uh, I'm not thinking with my quirk enough. Or something?"

"It's good to admit when you don't know. It means you are willing to learn. If you don't know, I want you to figure it out." Aizawa looked to the other two.

Tokoyami sighed, before speaking up. "I must guess that my 0 came from the toe touch. Since I didn't use Dark Shadow?" Izuku was thoroughly impressed by his quirk in the execution of him using it. It seemed to be sentient, and among the most useful and versatile quirks he had ever seen.

"No, it was for the grip strength. You simply let Dark Shadow do it for you, instead of trying to even think of ways to enhance it together. All of your other uses of Dark Shadow were a cooperative effort, but this demonstrated to me perhaps you are in danger of being too reliant of your quirk. Do you want to be the hero, Mr. Tokoyami, or does Dark Shadow?" He turned his head to Tooru.

"Was it the cannon?" She asked, her body gestures making it obvious she was feeling guilty.

Aizawa shook his head. "No, that was clever, making use of the environment. The 0 is for the long distance run. You attempted to cheat on the corners, which is something I give you credit for, but I do not care about your ability to cheat. I care about how you can use your abilities and your quirks to fulfill the tests I gave to you. If it weren't for the cleverness with the cannon, I would be expelling you. But you showed the potential to adapt and overcome. As long as you show potential, I will help to nurture it. If I don't see potential, I will find someone else who I can see it in."

It was obvious that Tooru's legs were shaking. Quickly the tailed boy Ojiro came to her side and helped keep her steady. Not that Izuku could blame her, when she had come so close to getting kicked out of U.A. His hands were feeling antsy after having a brush himself with failing.

"So, no one is getting kicked out yet. That's interesting. Your day isn't over yet, so I want you all to get dressed and return to class. I will meet you back there." Then, Izuku noticed Aizawa begin walking towards the side of the building, and not towards the main door back into class. Odd.

"You friggin' bag of secrets. Got anymore you are holding out on?" Sero had grabbed his shoulder with Honehuki and Yaoyorozu by him.

"One or two, but those I'm legally obligated to keep quiet." Izuku said with a stone face.

The three of them looked at each other, and back to Izuku.

"Considering everything we know about you, I actually believe you." Honehuki confessed.

"I was thinking the same thing." Yaoyorozu admitted.

"So was this supposed to be a big secret you were going to hold onto all year or what?" Sero asked as they walked towards the doors of the locker rooms.

"I mean, I figured either sensei or Kacchan would spoil it but… I was kind of hoping to prove myself capable to the class first." Izuku admitted to them.

"They were a tough crowd. Some of them, at least." Honenuki pointed out.

"Yeah, but I think you will be able to do that once we get into hero exercises. I saw you with Pop Step a few times, and I know you are more than ready." Yaoyorozu reassured him.

He smiled at that. "It's good to know somebody thinks so." The four of them made it to the locker rooms, their first major event at U.A. passing by mostly smoothly.

…..

So, yeah, here is an update. I have no excuses except, I would pull this up and I just would get distracted and not focus on this. But, big surprise, I've been like this for the 7 ½ years I've been on this site. Hopefully I can get more out sooner rather than later. Plus, there is a thing I kind of want to write. It's an abomination, nearly to the levels of Deku x Nomu, but I kind of think it is brilliant. Of course, having a dozen ideas of things you want to begin writing but have no clue how to finish has been my problem forever.

Ignoring all that, tell me what do you think is coming. Do you like what I did? Something tells me ignoring the fact that Deku is obviously quirkless in this until the end of chapter 5 was stupid but C'est la vie. I like where I am taking things, and I hope you do too. Peace out until next time.


	6. Good Things

So there is no good reason why this chapter took so long, especially with how short it is. I'm sorry it is brief, but I have a bunch I will get to next time. I hope you enjoy this short chapter while I get my stuff together and write more.

….

Izuku never wanted to go back to Recovery Girl's office if he could manage it.

It wasn't that she wasn't awesome and a vital heroine to the Japanese hero ecosystem for decades. It wasn't that her quirk (which she hadn't used on him) creeped him out, since getting what was basically a grandma kiss didn't phase him. No, his desire to never return was to make sure he never felt her wrath again.

As soon as he explained the origin of the injuries on his feet, she had given him a firm slap on the head for his own recklessness before treating and bandaging his feet. She admonished him for not giving enough forethought in his actions, and commented that since he had gotten in on his brains, he should know how to use them. It wasn't that she was wrong, but it still wasn't an experience he was interested in repeating.

And, on a completely unrelated note, the gummy bears she gave out sort of tasted like the sugar free version, which made sense because she was a nurse. It also meant he had to be careful of how many of them he took because he would regret it later otherwise. He already had a feeling that there were a few kids in his class that might fall for that trap, but that was neither here nor there.

He was content to leave to the train station by himself since he had gone to the nurse's after class, but was mildly pleased to see Sero and Yaoyorozu waiting for him near the entrance. They had been chatting, presumably getting to know one another since he was likely their only connection. He could tell he was smiling as he walked up to them. He had underestimated them, that was for sure.

"You two know you didn't have to wait for me?" He pointlessly pointed out to them.

Sero shrugged it off. "It's not like I have anything better to do, since Honehuki caught the first train back to Tokyo. That commute has to suck!" He cheerfully communicated to Izuku's slight confusion.

"So, you aren't traveling from Tokyo? Did you get a place near here?" Izuku prodded.

Yaoyorozu interjected. "He was just telling me he was staying with his half-sister near here. She has an apartment with a spare room since her old roommate moved out and she hadn't found a new one. She is studying to get a masters in physical therapy, you said?" She asked Sero.

"Yeah, that's on the money. She said it isn't talked about a lot, but many heroes end up needing physical therapy as they get older or if they get badly hurt. So she is teasing me that I'm gonna end up paying her back all the money I owe her finally!" He joked, making it clear that in his opinion he didn't owe her much.

Learning more about one of Sero's half-sister's was interesting enough, and the idea about physical therapy was intimidating to contemplate for their futures, but all Izuku cared about was someone thought it was worth their time to wait on him! Someone his own age even! He just wanted to smile.

Better yet, it had been two people waiting for him! He returned his focus to Yaoyorozu, who was just casually chatting along about her own knowledge on the subject. Looking at her really did make him smile. Of course, Sero noticed.

"I think that sounds right, but my sister always says that every time someone makes a scientific discovery, someone else makes a discovery that says the opposite is true. I can ask her what she thinks about that. Though I don't think Midoriya is interested in this stuff. His mind seems to be focused on something else."

Yaoyorozu turned to look at him, and caught him smiling at her. He felt like a creep, and couldn't believe what Sero had done. He had been listening! "Having a good thought, Midoriya?"

Izuku quickly glanced at Sero smirking on the side before returning his attention to Yaoyorozu. "I guess you can say that. I'm just happy I found good friends at U.A. so fast." He didn't mean to, but it lingered in the air in a way that hinted he hadn't found good friends much at all in the past.

Yaoyorozu broke the linger. "I have felt the same way. Despite her initial brashness, Jirou is quite the pleasant person I can't wait to know better. And Sero here is definitely a good person. I can see why you befriended him so quickly at the entrance exam. He told me about how you met. Did Pop Step really drive you to U.A.?" She asked, interested.

So that was how the rest of their walk together went, with Izuku regaling the story of Kazuho taking him to school and the threat she had made to their mutual amusement. Sero's sister lived rather close to campus so he was able to walk there, so the two of them wished him well as he split off. The two of them made their way to the station Izuku needed to catch his train, with Izuku being slightly confused.

"I mean, from the area where you live, this station doesn't make much sense. It doesn't have any direct connections, and any transfers would be cumbersome. The one to the west of U.A. would have brought you closer to home much easier." He hadn't thought to ask with Sero there, but something didn't add up.

"Oh, I'm not catching a train home." She explained.

"You're not?" They turned the corner to see the station in view, along with a gorgeous black SUV that he could faintly see from the back was a Lexus. He had to imagine it was a very rich person's car.

"I'm glad mother listened and didn't send the limo." He turned to his walking companion.

"Is… is this car for you?" He asked, almost disbelieving. The only reason he believed it was could be was that he knew she came from a well-off family. Just… not this well off (if there was an option for a limo.)

"Yes it is. I should probably hurry over to them. I know my mother had preferred I be picked up at U.A., so I should not abuse our compromise by dilly-dallying." She picked up the pace, as Izuku followed suit.

"Wait, a compromise? To be picked up at this train station? Wouldn't it make more sense to just be picked up at U.A?" He asked the obvious question.

Yaoyorozu turned as they power walked to the waiting car and gave him a big smile before saying something that messed with his entire world. "I know, but I also know this is the train station you use to go home. And I would like to walk with you this far at least after school."

Izuku knew his face was ugly. It puckered as the ray of sunshine that was Momo Yaoyorozu shined upon him, but he didn't care. She wanted to walk with him home this much! That was beyond anything he could imagine.

"Is that weird?"

Her question broke his concentration before he vigorously shook his head. "No, no, it isn't weird. It is just, well the sweetest thing someone has done for me. I mean, maybe not the right word but you know? So it is really caring and make me feel special that someone as cool as you would want to do that for me. Wait, that sounds weird. Just, it's really nice and cool. Thank you." He felt like a dweeb as he was bowing to her slightly. He should have just tried to play it cool, but he had to go and make her feel awkward about it.

He heard a snicker and look up to see Momo with her wrist up to her face, trying to hide… a laugh? That was one of the girliest things Izuku had ever seen and it made it feel less awkward somehow. "It's fine, Greenhorn. I appreciate that you appreciate it. And I can't wait to do it again tomorrow. See you in class." She waved goodbye as she quickly made her way to the car, leaving Izuku by himself.

"See you tomorrow!" He said back, hopefully loud enough for her to hear him. He couldn't tell if she got the message as she entered the car and was quickly whisked away to her estate. Midoriya couldn't but be in a bit of a daze as he got into the station and the subsequent train home. He had hoped for something better once he got into U.A. School had been… well not the highlight of his day. He had always been the weirdo. The quirkless kid. The kid who tried too hard. But to get all of this, this quickly? That the people around him cared for him! People his age, at that (Koichi and Kazuho were the best, but they were adults. They were supposed to be more mature and stuff.)(He knew very well they weren't mature, but they maintained the illusion well enough.)

It was ten minutes into the train ride he realized that she had called him Greenhorn, and besides getting worked up enough to attract the attention of others on the train, there was nothing he could do about it. The worst part about how he didn't mind her calling him Greenhorn, since … he blushed as the reasons why he wouldn't care came to mind.

Izuku returned home to quickly notice there were visitors in his home. Very distinct visitors based on the shoes in the doorway that he knew very well.

"Please tell me you weren't trying to surprise me, because you two failed really bad on that front. Hi mom, how was your day?" He walked into the living room after removing his effectively ruined shoes (he needed another pair or three to be safe, especially after he made adjustments to them.)

"Don't flatter yourself, loverboy. How was your first day of school with your girlfriend?" His female friend teased him to his mild horror because...

"Izuku, honey, you didn't tell me you got a girlfriend! What is she like? Kazuho was saying she was gorgeous, I'm so happy for you honey!" His mom was wrapped around him with a hug. "How was your first day at school? Did you enjoy it? Everything turn out okay?"

"Hey Izuku." Koichi had the most subdued and preferable response of the three.

"Mom, it's not, Kazuho is just teasing me. Yaoyorozu is just my friend! I swear!" He spoke, wriggling in his mother's grip.

"Until your son grows a pair and asks her out." Kazuho teased him again.

"I mean, that isn't an unfair assessment." Koichi drove it in further.

"Guys!" He could understand her teasing, but why did Koichi have to add on to it?

"Girl." Kazuho snarkly corrected him, pointing towards herself. "And yeah, how did my manager do in his first day of UA?" She tacked on.

His mom finally let him go. "Yes, yes, tell us everything!" She dragged him to the couch where the other two sitting and offered him a snacking plate she had made for the visitors.

Izuku was a little exasperated but smiling at them because the truth was, he was eager to tell them about it.

"Pretty good but weird. The first thing I heard coming into the classroom was Kacchan being called a delinquent by a girl who I'm pretty sure is foreign. Then she called him a chihuahua."

"She is my new favorite person." Kazuho quickly interjected. Koichi openly snickered, while his mom seemed to hide a smirk behind her hand.

"Then she called me… well she only heard what Kacchan had called me…a 'Friggin Deku' except she didn't censor it."

Kazuho burst out laughing while his mom looked horrified.

"Oh no, please tell me you explained to her how that isn't appropriate." His mom interjected.

"I would have, but Eraserhead-sensei came into the room and immediately made us do a quirk assessment test as a physical."

He then went over the events of the previous day and the trio looked on in dismay as all the things that Izuku had wanted to stave off immediately sharing about himself were immediately shared.

"I still don't understand why Katsuki acts like that. He is a grown boy who knows better than that!" His mom commented at his stories end, which he left off with him leaving school with an unspecified group of friends.

"I mean, profound arrogance for one." Koichi remarked offhandedly in a mocking manner.

"I mean, the foreigner said it herself. He isn't a grown boy, he's a chihuahua!" Kazuho added to the insults.

His mom sighed. " Well, at least the band-aid was ripped off. Now you don't have to worry about keeping secrets from your new friends."

Izuku sighed. "You're right. I have always sucked at lying."

"I mean, besides the secret that you have feelings for Yoyo." Kazuho knew to tack on. He saw the gleam in his mother's eye and the look of sympathy from Koichi.

"Now then Izuku, you do need to tell me more about this 'Yaoyorozu' girl. She sounds wonderful." His mom looked eager as Izuku began to formulate a revenge plot against Kazuho for the future. This was going to be her go-to bit now, wasn't it.

…

After a quick discussion on Yaoyorozu and doing his best to set the record straight and a longer discussion on life in general, Koichi and Kazuho disappeared into a spare room and out emerged Pop Step and the Crawler with a bag that presumably held their normal attire.

"Well Izuku, Inko, it has been fun but we have business to attend to!" Pop Step informed them as they stepped out the door.

Crawler clarified. "We heard through the grapevine that is patrolling solo through the docks and she is a bit worried about her.

Pop Step punched his shoulder. "As if." She exaggerated rolling her eyes. "I just know that massive headache is going to miss something so we are just gonna clean up her mess before it gets too big."

"Have a good night, dears. Stay safe!" His mom bid them farewell.

"Good luck and stay safe. Make sure you stay out of Eraserhead's way tonight. He probably doesn't want to see you guys tonight." Izuku warned them.

"You totally jinxed us, great! Well, make sure you keep your ringer on when we call you from jail, Greenhorn." Pop Step did one last wave as she closed the door.

His mom turned to him. "Your sensei… he wouldn't actually arrest them, would he? He gets along with them normally."

Izuku shrugged. "Probably not, especially when he sees I'm not with them. But who knows? I really hope he doesn't though. It would make tomorrow morning really awkward in class." He joked.

Helping his mom clean up from their celebration, Izuku made sure to get a full night of sleep and woke up early. Learning from the mistakes of yesterday, he grabbed one or two tested prototypes and stuck it in his bag just in case. His journey to the school went by without a problem, and found himself the first in his class to make it for the day. However he was not alone. On the floor, in a sleeping bag, laid his teacher.

"I don't understand how that is comfortable." He said to himself as he passed by.

"I don't understand why that is your business." His sensei snarked back from him, still mostly hidden in the bag.

Izuku was embarrassed to get caught with his comment and surprised to boot. "Oh, well, I mean, I didn't mean nothing but...the ground isn't that comfortable and I was just thinking aloud and-" He kept muttering an apology.

"I don't need a novel, Problem Child. I get it. And it was good that I didn't see you last night. I would have expelled you if I had." He bluntly informed him.

"I promised I wouldn't, Eraser sensei! I mean, sensei! Do you really not trust me to follow my promises?"

There was a long pause in the air. Finally, there was a response. "Not really, no."

At this time, the frog girl Asui came into the classroom and the conversation seemed finished.

"Good morning Midoriya." She greeted him plainly.

"Oh um, g-good morning Asui." He stumbled to a reply.

She stopped for a moment, and put a finger to the corner of her mouth before shaking her head and continued to her seat.

As the minutes passed, everyone slowly began to make their way to class with Izuku especially pleased to see Yaoyorozu, Sero and Honenuki (and able to ignore Bakugou.) Better yet, no one was making a big deal about all the things they learned about him yesterday...yet.

The day felt like a very normal school day. Almost too normal. They had come back from a delicious lunch courtesy of the great lunchtime/ relief hero Lunch Rush, and had discussed with his trio of friends how much it felt like an average day from middle school. Except they all knew what was coming in the afternoon

" **I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"**

Midoriya almost passed out.


End file.
